


One Wing

by Kalloway



Series: One Wing [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:42:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 51,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21899857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: When Cloud left the Coliseum to train, he ended up in Traverse Town.He's looking for something, someone... but the nights have been lonely, and...
Relationships: Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts), Cloud/Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Leon/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sephiroth/Cloud (Kingdom Hearts), Sephiroth/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: One Wing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577560
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19
Collections: The Lemonade Cafe





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My most-plagiarized story! Also the story that _made_ the Lemonade Cafe. ^_^;
> 
> Also my first? Kingdom Hearts fic! From very early in 2003, the idea for which meandered up and lodged in my brain while sitting at my desk and playing Tetris instead of doing homework my last year of Uni. 
> 
> It was basically "lemon practice", so now you know what you're in for. 
> 
> It also does not format particularly well to AO3's linearity, because there are some odd bonus/alternate chapters, but I'll do my best to present it as authentically as possible. 
> 
> With love, my apologies in advance. 
> 
> "Slightly A/U, uses more Final Fantasy backstory than KH. Contains plenty of foul language, stupid jokes, dated references, etc. This was written more as silliness than high literature."

Cloud Strife turned the rather confusing map upside down and looked at it again. He still couldn't figure out where he was. Whoever made this map, he decided, should be shot. He turned a corner, hoping for some semblance between the scenery and the map.

And he was too busy looking at that map to avoid colliding with another man. Cloud's victim dropped the bag he was carrying and various items rolled across the paving stones.

Cloud quickly crumpled the map into one hand and bent down to help retrieve what looked like several thousand gil worth of goodies. Or whatever they called money here. He didn't care. He hated these worlds. He wasn't exactly sure why though. It seemed like they were messing with his memory, and he hated that. He knew his memories had been tampered with before, and he was desperately searching...

"..."

"Sorry. I was trying to figure out..." Cloud started, reaching for some of the spilled goods. It didn't look like anything had broken.

Both finally got a good look at each other. Cloud knew he didn't fit in well with the rest of the town's inhabitants, not with his excess weaponry... or what was hidden underneath the red cloak he'd borrowed from an old friend. One who'd been evading his memories lately, sadly.

The man he'd crashed into looked to be about the same age as he, with shaggy brown hair and ice blue eyes. And leather.

"Whatever."

They reloaded the bag in silence.

Cloud sighed and offered up his crumpled map. "Do you know how to find..."

"No," the other man answered, turning to leave. He walked a couple steps before stopping.

"I might," he said quickly. "But I'm in a hurry."

Cloud hurried over with the map outstretched. "I'm new in this world. I came here in a dumpy spaceship built out of Lego or something and the damned thing is falling apart. I need to find a place to at least get it fixed but I can't figure out which side of the map is out."

A flicker of a smile formed on the other man's face. "A gummi ship. One of the guys I work with fixes them. Just follow me."

And off he walked, leaving Cloud staring after him.

He quickly ran to catch up. "Thank you, um..."

"Leon. And give me that map." He yanked the map roughly from Cloud's hands. "Whoever made this map should have it shoved up his ass. I'll get you a better one. That or have Yuffie show you around. She..."

"Yuffie?! Yuffie's here!" Cloud exclaimed. He remembered the bratty ninja quite well, once her name had been brought up.

"You know her?" Leon asked, looking strangely at his new companion.

"She's from my world," Cloud said slowly, processing the new info carefully. "Who else is here? I'm looking for someone very special to me."

Leon shrugged. "How should I know who's from your world?"

"Well, is there anyone Yuffie seems to know well?" Cloud asked, his mind going a million miles an hour. He clicked his metal claws together anxiously.

"She lives with her friend Aerith in Third..." Leon began, now very interested in what information this new visitor could provide.

"Aerith!" Cloud yelled. "Aerith! I thought she was dead!" Something else clicked in his brain. "Anyone could be here then," he said quickly.

"Aerith thinks she's been here for years," Leon explained. "But we aren't sure how time works here. None of us have a very good memory anymore. Maybe a year here isn't the same as a year on another world."

They turned another corner while Cloud was thinking. He felt like his brain was going to explode with all the new information.

"I thought I'd never see anyone again," Cloud said softly, trying to take in the twists and turns they were making while also trying to remember...

"What's your name?" Leon asked suddenly.

"Cloud."

"I think Aerith's mentioned you before, awhile ago. Maybe Sora was talking about you. I wasn't paying much attention."

"Sora? Not Vaguely-annoying-teenager-with-unruly-hair-silly-weapon-talking-animals-following-him Sora?" Cloud asked, not believing how small the worlds had suddenly become.

"That would be him. These items are for him when he comes back," Leon said, gesturing to the bag. "How do you know him?"

"I have a contract to fight in the Coliseum," Cloud explained. "I wasn't huge on fighting him at first, but now we have a bit of an understanding."

"Oh?" Leon was a little confused. Weren't the fighters at the Coliseum bad guys?

"I let him kick my ass to make him look good and he tells me stories later in the locker room. All these worlds... But he never mentioned Aerith or Yuffie. Hell, he never named names, come to think of it. Besides a couple boyfriends, of course," Cloud said, grinning. "I remember that age."

"Boyfriends?" Leon asked, a little curious on just what Sora had told the blond.

Cloud nodded. "He's absolutely hung up on this Riku kid I spent some time training. I didn't tell him about that, of course. Hell, anyone could be hung up on Riku. The kid is something else in just about every category."

Leon was watching the other man carefully. He didn't look like a heartless, but seemed to be in league with them anyway. "Sora has talked about Riku quite a bit."

"There's another guy he has a thing for though. I think they just kind of fooled around though, nothing serious. He asked me if it was wrong because he was in love with someone else." Cloud shrugged. "I couldn't tell him it was - I have plenty of things I can't tell him. Besides, the nights get cold and lonely no matter what world you're on."

Leon nodded. He had been leading Cloud the longest possible way to Cid's place, mainly to gather all the information he could since the blond was obviously willing to talk. There were only so many long ways to take though, and before long they'd be out of options.

"You work for the heartless?" It was the tough question. Leon wished he was armed, but he assumed he was just going on a quick errand. Cloud had one hell of a sword with him, but Leon knew where he was going.

Cloud stopped dead. "I... Yes. And No."

Leon held the blond in his icy gaze. "Explain."

"I'm trying to find someone. I can barely remember now. But I was promised help and I fell for it. I got out of the main contract but I still have to stay and fight in the Coliseum tournaments," Cloud said. He wasn't proud of any of it. He'd seemed to have lost most of his mind while staying in that world. "I asked for a month to train on other worlds so I could keep up with the competition. But the useless joobjoob ship or whatever it is, only made it here."

Leon thought a moment. "That's a stupid story. If you were lying, you'd have come up with something better than that."

"Thank you, Leon," Cloud said flatly.

The walked on in silence. Cloud figured he'd have to run for his life at some point. Hopefully after his ship had been fixed.

"We're here," Leon said, pushing inside a storefront. Cloud followed quickly, not wanting to lose sight of his guide.

Once inside Leon put his bag on a threadbare sofa and motioned for Cloud to have a seat.

Leon walked to the counter and banged relentlessly on a small silver bell that echoed painfully through the building.

"Give me a fucking second!" a voice called out from the back of the shop. A moment later a disheveled blond walked out into the room. He had grease covering most of his face, arms, and outfit.

Cloud looked up when he sensed the other man enter the room. They looked at each other a moment.

"Cloud!"

"Cid?!" Cloud stood quickly.

"You two know each other?" Leon asked. His day was definitely getting interesting.

"Aerith told me she thought you were out there somewhere. Never thought I'd see you with my own fucking eyes though. It's been a long time... hasn't it?" Cid said, coming around the counter and grabbing Cloud's arms in greeting.

"I don't know. I don't think it has, Cid. But it's good to see you," Cloud replied.

Cid frowned a second, fingering the worn red cape. He looked sadly into the Mako blue eyes.

"Another thing I can't remember," Cloud said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Cid said softly before transforming into his usual self. "So how the fuck did you get here?"

"Gumball ship," Cloud explained. "But it's a piece of garbage. Can you..."

"Gummi ship," Cid corrected. "I work on them now."

Cloud nodded. It seemed fitting enough. "I can't believe Aerith is here."

"And Yuffie. But Aerith was a fucking shocker. She doesn't remember much of what happened though. Neither do I. I did, but it's gone now," Cid said. "I guess when the world goes, the memories start to fade as well."

Leon nodded. "We should be going."

"We?" Cloud asked.

"You are going to help us, aren't you?" Leon asked.

"Help you?"

"Leon hasn't filled you in on the fucking details, has he?" Cid said, fumbling for a cigarette.

"Details? Now what am I missing?" Cloud asked, getting more upset by the second. Just when things were finally starting to make sense in his mind, he was getting overwhelmed again.

"We're trying to destroy the heartless," Leon explained. "And since you're one of them, you have information we can use."

"What?" Cid asked, almost dropping his lighter. "Cloud's a..."

"Heartless," Cloud finished. "I work with them. I'm not fond of them though. But... I have a contract. I'm not supposed to destroy anything, at the moment."

"Fuck your contract!" Cid exclaimed.

"No," Leon said. "Maybe he can be more useful if he stays with them but feeds us info on the side. What do you say, Cloud?"

After a moment, Cloud nodded. "I just want one thing."

"What?"

"I don't think I'm quite the Cloud anyone remembers. There are so many things I don't remember or are confused in my mind," Cloud explained. "I want you to keep me from doing anything I shouldn't. I don't know if they can control me at all or not."

"You're the same fucking Cloud I remember," Cid said. "Absolutely fucked in the brain."

Cloud managed a small smile beneath the top of his cape.

"Are you ready to visit Aerith and Yuffie?" Leon asked. "We can come back here anytime."

Cloud nodded. "Are you going to be my chaperone now?"

"Can't take any chances, heartless boy."

"Bring your ship around tomorrow," Cid said. "I have to get back to work."

"Sure thing, Captain," Cloud replied, waving as Cid went back to the rear of the store.

"Captain?" Leon asked.

"Yeah. He was the Captain."

Leon grabbed the item bag and let Cloud back out of the shop. Neither spoke until they got to the gate to Third District.

"Aerith and Yuffie live in a small house here. I live next door. You should stay with me," Leon said.

"Since you're watching my every movement and all," Cloud replied, pushing the gate open.

"Squall!" A voice yelled as soon as the pair was in Third District. "Is that..."

It was Yuffie, who leaped over a stone wall and landed gracefully in front of them. By the time she was halfway into her question her eyes were huge.

"Cloud! You are alive!" She hurled herself at him full force and crushed him into a hug.

"What's going on?" It was a more melodic voice. "Cloud?"

Cloud saw a rush of pink as his voice caught in his throat. Aerith came rushing down a set of stairs and stood before him.

"Hi," he managed, trying to pry Yuffie loose.

"Sora told us you were out there, but..." Aerith began.

"He's with the heartless," Leon said. "But he'll tell us what he can."

Yuffie let go of Cloud and was running her hands along the red cape. "Is this from..."

Cloud nodded. "I don't remember how."

Aerith stepped forward to hug him as well. She quickly backed away, shaking her hands. "What... you aren't..."

Cloud hung his head. "It's not like that," he said. "I had it before all of this. From another time."

Both Leon and Yuffie looked confused.

"Had what?" Yuffie asked.

"You just hugged me," Cloud said. "What did you feel?"

"Armor, your sword, a lumpy cape?" Yuffie said, ticking off items on one hand.

"And this," Cloud said softly, shaking the cape off his left shoulder and stretching an odd black wing.

"One wing?" Leon questioned. "Why?"

Yuffie looked pale. "I can't remember, but isn't it something bad?"

Aerith shook her head. "No, there's something about it that makes sense."

"Whatever it is, I don't like showing it off," Cloud explained, tucking it back beneath the cape. "It's a part of me, yet it feels like it's only the beginning of something."

"It fits you," Leon said.

"We can talk inside," Aerith said. "Are those the items for Sora? I hope he's back soon."

Leon nodded and both he and Cloud followed the women back to their house.

"Would you like to clean up?" Yuffie asked. "How did you get here anyway?"

"Goonie ship," Cloud replied. "And that'd be nice."

"Are you gonna stay with Squall?" The ninja asked. There was that name again.

"Squall?"

"Leon. Oops. He wants to be Leon now, but I think he looks more like a Squall," Yuffie explained, leading Cloud down the hallway. "Bathroom is here, there should be lots of towels. Do you have anything else to wear? You're filthy."

Cloud shook his head. "You know me. Two pairs of clothes and twenty swords. All of which are still on the Goober ship."

"I'll have... Leon... bring you something. Even if he won't, I'm gonna trust you. I know you used to trust me even when you shouldn't have." The girl smiled. "I'm so happy you're here. You'll have to tell me all about what you've been doing!"

"Yuffie!" It was Aerith, calling from another room. "Let Cloud wash up and rest. Leon says he'll be here a month so we can pester him later."

"Wash quick. I want to pester you now," Yuffie said before trotting off.

Cloud found himself smiling. He felt like he had a home again. And Aerith - he didn't want to let go of her again. She must not remember the power she has, he thought, she seemed surprised at even being able to sense the wing.

His wing. A couple times he had wondered if he was a fallen angel. A fallen one-winged angel. The thought made him shiver as he started stripping off his armor. He wasn't sure why that sounded familiar, or so right.

He was also curious about Leon, whom Yuffie called Squall. He knew Leon was a little older, but had fooled around with Sora a couple times. Sora had nothing but praise for the man, and Cloud was definitely intrigued. It was probably a combination of the leather, hair, eyes, scar, and attitude. And, he thought with a chuckle as he removed the red cape, Sora said Leon was pretty well endowed too.

The nights had been lonely, and he couldn't remember who he was supposed to be going home to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And elsewhere, Sephiroth.

"Do you know why you're here?" asked a voice from the shadows.

"To train," Riku said confidently, clutching the sword he'd been given.

"Why?" The voice was cool, but not harsh. Riku wondered just who he was to study under.

"So I can win," Riku replied. There was a defiant edge in his voice. Why was his new teacher hiding anyway?

"Who are you?" He stepped towards the shadows but stopped quickly when he saw movement.

"In other times on other worlds, I was called Sephiroth." A figure emerged from the shadows and walked over to Riku.

And Riku was speechless as he drank in every inch of the other man.

"Seph...i...roth," Riku said softly, letting his tongue play with the name as he stood, captivated. He wasn't sure if it was the long silver hair or the glowing green eyes or even the slight smile, but he couldn't stop staring. Sephiroth was the definition of male beauty, perfect skin over sculpted muscle. He looked like an... What was that? Something caught the corner of his eye - feathers?

One black wing.

Sephiroth curiously regarded his new student. He hadn't seen anyone gape at him like that since he headed SOLDIER.

"Your name is Riku?" he asked.

Riku nodded, finally remembering to close his mouth.

"I am to assume that I interest you." It wasn't a question.

Riku quickly shook his head, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

"I just... Are you an angel?"

The slight smile grew a bit wider. "I could be called that. I'm also a god."

Riku instantly went back on the offensive. "Everyone around here is a god."

"Hades?" Sephiroth asked, taking a couple steps and stretching slightly. "I could destroy him with a finger."

"Then why don't you?" Anybody could talk the talk, after all.

"Who wants these pathetic worlds? I've seen better," Sephiroth replied, gesturing around with one arm. "I'm merely doing this to pass time until the other one like me shows up. I know he's here somewhere. I can feel him. We're one in the same."

Riku processed that info quickly.

"You know how I feel." He was still avidly watching Sephiroth as he moved restlessly. He wondered what that body could do. "My other half - he's against me. He just won't understand!"

"I can help you with everything," Sephiroth said, walking the last steps to put a hand on Riku's shoulder.

Riku shuddered at the contact and gazed up into the other man's eyes.

"Everything?" His body wasn't obeying his mind and he didn't want Sephiroth to notice. But everything about him seemed to be perfection. Of course, he was a god.

"Everything," Sephiroth said, smiling just a bit more. At that point, whatever Sephiroth asked, Riku would obey. Those eyes, hell, that body radiated with a power Riku couldn't fathom. "Starting with this." One black-gloved hand trailed down the front of Riku's body until it brushed over the bulge in the front of his blue pants.

"Sephiroth." It was like a plea. Riku was drowning in the power emanating from the man. Whatever the angel wished... he would obey. And, chances are, he would like it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shower scene, memories, and that damned wing...

The nights had been lonely, and he couldn't remember who he was supposed to be going home to.

* * *

He hadn't intended to take a shower. He'd just wanted to clean up a bit. But then the thought of a long hot private shower crept into his mind and he couldn't help it. Before long, Cloud was sprawled out in the tub, legs spread, wing stretched against the wall letting the hot water hit him in the midsection. He was tempted to find a stopper and take a bath.

He was a very dirty person. Days cramped in that damned gumdrop ship had left him greasy and sweaty as he'd tried to contain his nausea at the constant jerking motions of the ship.

Looking over at a shelf of bath products, Cloud briefly considered even taking a bubble bath. But he didn't want to smell too floral. Neither Cid nor Yuffie would let him live it down.

After a couple more minutes of being pounded by the hot water, he got to his feet and started actually washing himself. The wing was last, it always was.

"Why do I have a wing?" he asked himself quietly, soaping the appendage as gracefully as he could. "And why only one? Who has the other? Who am I searching for?"

He rinsed the soap off his body and looked for shampoo with a muted scent. Everything smelled like flowers.

Aerith. Flowers. The memories shook him for a moment. And something else, but it was hiding in the back of his brain, not yet ready to reveal itself.

Leon... Squall... Whomever he was. He wasn't familiar at all. How did he end up with the group? Why him?

"Where was I then?"

Not even water and lather kept his spikes down for long. He sighed as he washed the shampoo from his hair. Leon. A lion, thought Cloud. That's what he is.

Male lions have beautiful manes and watch over their territory ruthlessly. That sounded like the man already. Add in some leather and a plethora of belts... Cloud wondered if conditioner would have any effect on his blond spikes... and if he could make the lion roar.

He shrugged, turning off the hot water. "What else is there to do?"

"Cloud?" It was Yuffie, knocking on the door.

"You can come in," Cloud replied.

"Are you decent?" The door opened a crack.

"Yuffie. We fought side by side, tended each other's wounds and lived together for months," Cloud said. "I doubt there's anything you haven't seen."

"The... The wing..." Yuffie stammered. "It's kind of... I brought you some clothes from Leon. You'll have to cut the shirt, I guess, but..." A handful of clothes pushed their way inside.

Cloud wrapped the towel he'd grabbed earlier around his waist and flung the door open.

"I know it's there. You know it's there," he said as he pulled Yuffie into the steam-filled bathroom. "Just look at it. I don't like it either, but it's there."

Yuffie squeezed her eyes tighter for a moment before opening them and looking up at Cloud. She just sort of stared for a minute, before walking around him once.

"Cloud?" She held the clothes out like a peace offering and he immediately took them

"Yes?"

"Can you fly?" Yuffie suddenly fell back into herself, clutching her fists to her chest. "If you can, that's so cool!"

Cloud managed a small smile. "A little. I think it would help if I had two." He set the clothing down on the edge of the sink and shook out a mundane pair of jeans.

"No leather?" It was an honest question.

"Bummer, huh?" And Yuffie, still smiling, left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

* * *

He suddenly couldn't stop staring at her. Aerith. Alive. And Well. And making him tea. Who had made him tea? He shook his head at the lack of a memory and noticed some of the longer parts of his hair were still damp.

"Do you even drink tea?"

Cloud looked up from where he was modifying the shirt he'd been given. His claw glove was on his left hand, carefully slitting the material.

He flexed the wing, trying to fold it so he wouldn't have to make a big hole. "I drink tea."

"Milk or Honey?"

"I don't know." It was an honest reply.

"Why do we remember some things and not others?"

"Aerith, do you really want to remember?" Cloud asked, tapping the claws on the table.

She poured them each a cup of tea and sat down across the table from him. "Things come and go. Yuffie keeps telling me stories I told her, but I don't remember them. I keep hoping that when the heartless are gone... maybe it will all come back."

"Maybe." He wondered if he liked sugar in his tea. Had he ever had tea? It was suddenly blurry.

"Don't tell me you like having half of your brain constantly short circuiting!" Aerith exclaimed, breaking into a fit of laughter.

Cloud tore another couple centimeters of fabric. "I think I've always been this way. Besides, it leaves room to make new memories. The kind that'll last."

"Pretty sweet for a heartless." The laugh again, only calmer, softer.

"I'm not a heartless. I'm just doing what I can with the situation." He flexed the wing again. "Where did Leon and Yuffie go?"

"Yuffie went to get something to eat for us," Aerith explained, sipping her tea. "And Leon probably went to the Secret Waterway to train."

"There's somewhere to train here? Is Leon good?" Cloud felt genuinely excited for a moment.

"I think so. I don't fight him anymore, but Yuffie does."

Cloud let a small smile break across his face. "Then maybe being stuck here for a little while won't be so terrible."

"You remind me of someone," Aerith said. "He enjoyed a good fight... but I can't seem to remember..." Her air of seriousness vanished after a moment of thought.

"That's about all we say around here." She laughed. "I can't seem to remember this... I can't seem to remember that... I don't think I'd be surprised if we forgot our own identities one of these days."

Cloud sighed, trying to pull the long-sleeved shirt over his head and fight the wing through the hole in the back. "Been there. Done that," he muttered to the inside of the shirt.

* * *

Who. Was. This. Man?

Leon paced back and forth along the water. He'd long since given up trying to be productive and had instead decided to kick stones into the water.

Everyone knew him. "How did he end up on another world? Why wasn't he here with his friends? Why was I?"

That wing. Something about it made Leon uneasy, yet very very curious. He wondered what it felt like. If it was leathery. Or furry. And what Cloud felt, when it was touched.

He knew the man was probably now wearing his clothing. He wondered if they would fit. If they would look good. How good?

Leon shook the last thought from his mind. "He did mention..."

Sora's obsession, Riku... All Leon ever heard about, except of course when he found ways to keep the boy's mouth occupied.

* * *

"Where's Squa-Leon?" Yuffie asked as she came in carrying a wonderful smelling paper sack of food. "I have take-out!"

"He probably went to train," Aerith said, grabbing the now empty teacups from the table and whisking them to the sink. "Cloud?"

The blond looked up. He'd been idly obsessing over the uneven sharpness of his claws. He clicked them gently under the table as he shifted. "Huh?"

"Do you think you could go get Leon?" Aerith was talking with her head in a cupboard.

"Not without five maps and two native guides," Cloud replied. "This is the most poorly designed town ever. Worse than the slums to navigate."

"I'll write down really good directions, it should take about ten minutes to go there and back," Yuffie said, setting down the white box she was holding.

* * *

Every time he passed a stray heartless, it looked at him for less than a second before looking away. He clicked the claws together, just in case one got any ideas. If they could have ideas...

Cloud had almost lost himself pondering whether or not the heartless could actually think. The only thing that knocked him out of his reverie was the fact that there was no more alleyway in front of him. Only wall. And a storm drain.

"Secret Waterway,." Cloud moaned, quickly referencing the directions the ninja had scrawled for him. "I guess I can always take another shower."

After taking off his socks and boots, he ducked down and trudged through the surprisingly clear water. It wasn't horribly deep, but the ends of the red cape caught the tips of the waves he was making. He'd tried to roll up the bottoms of his pants as well, with little success.

"Leon?" he called as he stepped into an open and vaguely lit area. Most of it was unsubmerged and it looked almost lived in and comfortable. There were a few crates scattered around the perimeter, some with empty glass bottles sitting on them. "Leon?"

"Who is it?" A voice echoed down from a far stairway. Long hair and leather came into view a moment later. "Cloud?"

"Um... Dinner's ready." It sounded idiotic. Cloud shrugged. "Do they always send company to get wet?"

Leon considered smiling. "Yes." The blond looked pretty good in his clothes. If only he'd lose the cape. Leon unconsciously licked his lips.

Cloud was still looking around. "Is there where you trained Sora?" He was still clutching his boots like they'd leave him. He felt ridiculous.

Leon nodded. "Not quite like what you're used to?" His eyes narrowed.

"It's very... private," Cloud said. The other man intrigued him. The other man's relationship with Sora intrigued him.

He wondered what Aerith had put in the tea.

Leon nodded again. "The heartless don't come down here. It's nice," he said quickly.

"I thought I'd qualified as one of them."

Leon regarded the blond for a moment. Without most of the armor, weapons, and grime, Cloud looked almost like a different person. "Whatever."

Cloud didn't say a word as he turned and stepped back into the water. Leon followed him out a moment later, cursing that red cape under his breath the entire time.

Both sat on the paving stones as they replaced their footwear, neither talking.

Despite each of them wanting to ask a million questions, neither one said a word until just before they arrived in front of the house in Third District.

"Squall?" Cloud whispered, using the name Sora had used.

Leon looked curiously at the blond.

"I've heard stories about you." And with that, Cloud opened the door and stepped inside.

Needless to say... neither man said much during dinner.

* * *

"What did you do to him?" Yuffie asked, clearing the table. It had been five minutes since Leon stalked back to his house without saying a word.

Cloud didn't say anything.

"Leon is a good person," Aerith said. "I know he's not from our world, but... He's like family now. "

"You'll like him when you get to know him. He'll even talk a little more," Yuffie added, spinning around before depositing empty containers in the garbage.

"I never said I didn't like him." Claws drummed along the edge of the table as Cloud wondered if he should even try to explain that the real problem was trying to figure out how to get Leon naked underneath him.

* * *

Leon was sitting at his own table, ritually cleaning his gunblade when there was a knock at the door. He stood slowly and walked over to the door. No one he knew bothered knocking most of the time, and it was getting quite late. Heartless didn't knock, did they?

He opened the door and glared into the blue eyes of the man waiting outside. "You don't have to knock, you know. You are staying here." Heartless do knock, he thought as he stepped aside to let Cloud in.

Cloud nodded and walked into the main room. "Do you have a blanket I could borrow? I really don't have anything with me."

"Going to sleep already?"

The blond glared back at Leon. "It's been a long day."

"Make yourself at home."

Cloud watched as Leon vanished into another room before looking around. It was even more sparse than the small house the girls were sharing. They'd talked for hours about everything they could remember. Yuffie even wrote most of it down. None of them could remember quite how they ended up where they did, only that there were large holes in their memories, and quite a bit of darkness.

"Here." A slight shock as a worn green blanket hit Cloud in the chest. He blinked as he caught it and realized Leon had returned.

"I'll let you sleep in a minute. What did Sora tell you about me?" Leon circled around Cloud as he tried to find words to describe the delicious mental images he'd created the second he saw the man.

"He told me... You're a good teacher." Cloud set the blanket on the floor as he bent down to untie his boots.

"That's all?"

Cloud shrugged. Now was neither the time, nor the... Well, it was the place, but Cloud really was exhausted on many levels.

"Maybe." He stripped off his armor and cloak, setting them on a crate.

Leon glared before sitting back down at the table to continue what he'd been doing. Out of the corner he watched the blond eye the tattered sofa before grabbing his cloak again and settling down on the wood floor.

"Too good for my sofa?"

Tired blue eyes still shone as they met Leon's gaze. "It'll be too uncomfortable." He paused. "The wing... It's like an arm or leg, if I hold it wrong it'll lose feeling. It's not the easiest thing to sleep with."

Leon sighed. He could at least sleep on the sofa. "Go sleep on my bed."

Cloud inwardly wondered if this was going to turn into an invitation. "You sure?"

"I can sleep on the sofa," Leon replied. "Leave me the blanket."

Cloud got up silently, dropped the blanket and went into the bedroom. He didn't want to fight with the other man. He was still hopeful he'd at least get a warm body to sleep with.

The room was as sparse as the rest of the house, but the bed looked warm and soft. After a minute of deliberation and another of struggle, Cloud removed his shirt and set it on a barrel that thought it was a table.

Less than a minute later, he was on his stomach under the blankets, wing stretched along the same path as his left arm.

* * *

Leon spent an extra hour polishing his weapon, despite the fact it was already gleaming to begin with. He just couldn't stop thinking. Usually, his thoughts ranged the gamut from killing heartless to Dalmatian puppies, but tonight, it was nothing but Cloud.

And he had to walk in the room where said man was sleeping in order to get himself something to sleep in.

Sighing, he got to his feet, brushed back his hair, and pushed the door to the room open.

Light poured into the bedroom through the doorway, but the sleeping blond didn't stir. Leon tried not to look at Cloud while he fumbled through drawers for a pair of sweatpants. Of course, he did look.

Cloud had thrown off the blankets but he was still sprawled the way he had been. Leon marveled at the spot where wing joined back muscle. It looked purely natural, the smooth skin darkening quickly over the appendage. He circled the bed to get a closer look. What could cause a person to have one wing? Where was the other?

Leon reached a hand out to touch it but stopped himself. He'd been dwelling on the wing as much as the man himself. But to touch it. Throwing caution to the wind, he lightly ran his fingers from the middle of Cloud's back to the top tips of black. The blond stirred lightly, almost moaning in his sleep.

Leon stepped back, stunned. As much as he wanted to stroke a little harder, he had no idea what he'd say if Cloud woke up.

Making sure he did indeed have his sweatpants, Leon quickly exited the room.

* * *

Cloud woke up the second he had heard someone come into the room. Years of every type of miserable living situation imaginable taught him to be almost overly conscious of his surroundings.

He didn't move; he just listened as the other man rummaged around the room while attempting to be quiet.

And then, Cloud realized, Leon was watching him while he feigned sleep. The other man wouldn't kill him in his sleep, would he?

Leon was still staring. Cloud knew this. But why?

The wing. He only then considered that he'd lost the top blanket.

Cloud relaxed slightly, assuming his abnormality was the only thing holding up Leon's departure. He would have been dead by now, otherwise.

Still, Cloud was not expecting a warm hand to trace the top contour of his wing. He couldn't help shifting slightly and letting out a small disappointed moan when the hand moved away.

Leon stepped back, and Cloud felt more dejected than ever. He now wanted the other man almost uncontrollably, and his horrible anomaly had... Cloud sighed to himself as he heard Leon leave the room.

* * *

Leon shifted on the sofa, trying to get comfortable as he pondered just what he'd done. He knew that Cloud was aware of his relationship... Wrong word... Dalliances? Whatever... It was no secret that he and Sora...

He sighed. That was another fine mess in itself, but the boy was just so... delicious. And enthusiastic. And...

But Sora was off looking for someone else. It was always that way...

He had strong feelings of abandonment from times he didn't remember. Everyone always left him, he thought. And Sora... Not like he had any claim on Sora besides the nighttime.

Nighttime, darkness, shadows, heartless. One of them was half-naked in his bed. And he'd mentioned Riku, the kid Sora was...

Cloud had said that Riku was... His mind searched and came up with delicious, but Cloud wouldn't have said that. Maybe it had been the way he'd said it. Had Cloud...?

He didn't think he could take following the entire train of thought any further. He had a month, or a few days at least, to find out exactly what was going on.

Puppies. Maybe, he thought, he could count puppies until he fell asleep.

* * *

Cloud yawned, setting his cup of coffee down on the small kitchen table. He'd been up almost an hour, clunking around the kitchen uncaring if he woke the other man. He hadn't.

At the moment, Leon was sleeping like the dead.

Cloud took the opportunity to get dressed, strap on his armor, and go outside. Without the heartless bothering him, he began effortlessly going through every training exercise and battle move he could think of. It felt great.

At one point he realized he was being watched, but he wasn't sure by whom. Random heartless seemed to be in awe of him as well as he launched into an impressive airbourne combination move.

When he landed, he heard faint clapping. It was Leon, watching him from the balcony in front of the houses. Cloud glared upward at him.

"You ready to take your ship to Cid?" Leon called. He didn't want to tell the other man just how amazed he currently was. Or how badly he wanted to...

"Sure. Let's go," Cloud replied, cutting off Leon mid-thought. Maybe for the better.

* * *

Mainly, they just glared at each other as they walked the short distance to Cid's shop.


	4. Chapter 4

Mainly, they just glared at each other as they walked the short distance to Cid's shop.

* * *

A bit later, after Cid promptly informed Cloud that his ship was a piece of shit and would need more than a few small repairs just to fly again, Leon asked if Cloud would like to get brunch at the nearby cafe. This, of course, was just about as awkward a situation as either could fathom.

Cloud seemed transfixed by the moogle-created candle sitting on their table. He'd been repeatedly snuffing it with his claws, only to watch it relight a moment later.

"I can get you one, if it's really that entertaining," Leon said, leaning back in his chair.

"Huh?" Cloud snuffed the flame one more time before realizing what he was doing. "I've never seen anything like these before. It's interesting. I just wanted to touch it. Surely you know what that's like." He'd been struggling not to bring up what had happened during the night.

Leon's eyes narrowed. "Not really," he said quickly. "I wonder where our food is."

"Not much for conversation?" Cloud said, tapping his claws. "Some date you are."

"What's that supposed to mean? This isn't..." Leon was more than a little flustered. He couldn't tell if the blond was playing or not. "Not like you talk alot either."

Cloud shrugged, and resumed his glaring match with the other man, even after the black-haired waitress brought them their meals.

* * *

Leon was a loud one. Not quite a screamer, but he made wonderful loud moaning noises when Cloud touched all the right spots. He tasted almost sweet on Cloud's tongue when Cloud coaxed an orgasm from him.

At least, he did in Cloud's mind as he followed Leon down the alleyway in Second District. They'd walked the longest way they could, Cloud noticed. Yet Leon still hadn't said anything. And he'd walked fast, which left Cloud staring at his leather-clad ass and licking his lips, thinking dirtier thoughts with every step.

He wanted to spar, to fight, to kiss, to touch, to control, to ravish the other man. The blond licked his lips again. In his mind, Leon was a loud one. And he liked it.

* * *

Cloud knew almost immediately that he could send the other man through one of the cavern walls without blinking. Leon was good, but not good enough.

Leon swung again at Cloud, who seemed to be barely putting any effort into blocking him.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you attacking?" Leon asked, stopping for a moment.

" I don't want to hurt you," Cloud replied, lowering the Buster sword.

"You think you could?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. Had Leon been paying no attention to what was going on?

"Fine." And Cloud lunged, using most of the same moves he used with Sora so the boy could win and look good. Leon's eyes sparkled as he matched Cloud move for more. Little did he know...

The tension in the cavern was thick enough to cut as Cloud slowly backed Leon up against a wall. Finally, knowing he was beat, Leon nodded and lowered his gunblade.

"You're good," he said, trying to catch his breath.

"I was trained to be good," Cloud replied. He was only a few inches away from the other man, and it was only going to take another few moments of staring into his icy eyes before something happened.

"How good are you? Were you holding back?" Leon suddenly asked, figuring out what the blond had meant earlier.

Cloud smiled wickedly, brushing some of that long dark hair free of Leon's face with his claws. He trailed the metal tips down the other man's cheek until they cupped his chin. "I've been told I'm very good. And I won't hold back any more."

"Oh?" It came out shaky, despite Leon's best efforts. Was he being teased for what had happened the night before? Or was the look in those wild blue eyes...

Leon didn't have time to think anything beyond that as Cloud closed in on him, pressing his mouth open and exploring it with a skilled tongue. For a moment, Leon couldn't even remember to kiss back. He didn't think he'd experienced anything like this in his entire existence. Claw-tipped fingers roamed their way down his body, trailing over leather and belts to gently squeeze his ass. He moaned into the kiss as he dueled a losing battle with his tongue.

"What do you think you're doing?" Leon exclaimed, pushing Cloud away the second he needed to breathe. He hadn't expected anything so...

Straightforward...

"Just once," Cloud murmured as he let his weapon drop. He grabbed both of Leon's arms and held him against the cavern wall, nipping gently at the other man's neck. "I want you."

Leon gasped. He definitely hadn't expected anything so sudden. But he didn't mind. He tilted his head to let the blond at more of his skin. "Cloud?"

Cloud froze. He wasn't the best at expressing himself and hoped he hadn't ruined his chance to claim the warm body he was pressing against. It had been so long, he thought, since he'd gotten to... Even Riku hadn't been this warm.

"Do you... Do you keep those claws on?" Leon managed to pull his voice from hesitant to hungry in only six words.

"Do you want me to?" Cloud asked, tugging at Leon's belts before kissing him again. Before the kiss broke, hands were over his, helping him with the clumsy buckles.

"Yes," Leon murmured as he undid the last buckle, letting Cloud tug insistently at his zipper for a moment before stopping him.

"Leon?"

Warm hands closed over flesh and metal. "There's blankets in one of the crates, let me..."

Cloud kissed him again. He was having fun making the other man repeatedly flustered. He liked taking Leon's control away. And his breath. Cloud was decently happy about all of this; if it worked out right, he wouldn't have to spend the next month alone.

By now Leon had gotten away from his claws and was digging a selection of blankets out of a nearby crate. How often did Leon get laid down here? Cloud tried not to laugh. After all, maybe it was a good thing Leon was prepared for this.

Cloud walked over to where Leon had just finished laying out a layer of blankets on the cool stone floor. They looked at each other a moment before grabbing each other into a lust-fueled kiss.

Cloud brought his arms up over Leon's shoulders to try and remove that small leather jacket. As soon as he had it free and had let it drop to the ground, he realized Leon was reciprocating by pulling away the clasps that held his cloak on. He wondered if...

The cloak fell free and fluttered to the ground, leaving Cloud's back free for Leon to touch. The blond froze as fingers roamed slowly up from the middle of his back, seemingly oblivious to what they'd find in a couple inches.

But no, Leon didn't stop when he reached the strange spot where Cloud's body burst forth with the wing, instead he traced what he could through the hole Cloud had ripped in his shirt and was more than surprised to find Cloud moaning at the touch.

"You aren't disgusted by it?" Cloud asked softly. The possibilities for this entire experience were multiplying as fast as he could imagine.

Leon shook his head as he brought his hands back to remove his own clothing. "It's different, but for a heartless..."

"I'm not a heartless." Cloud had taken Leon's cue and was pulling his own shirt off, albeit a little more slowly than he'd have liked.

"If it feels good when it's touched, it can't be too horrible."

"Then why did you pull away last night?" Cloud was bent down fighting with his boots.

Leon looked surprised. "I just wanted to... You were awake?"

Cloud nodded, looking over at Leon intently. Leon had just gotten his boots off as well, and with the blankets directly behind him... Cloud lunged, wing out to slow his momentum, pinning Leon to the blankets beneath him.

He nipped at Leon's lower lip while carefully grinding his body against the brunette. He could feel the other's arousal hard against his leg as they kissed again.

Leon had one hand possessively latched on to Cloud's bottom while the other one curiously explored the strong webbing of the blonde's wing. Cloud moaned into Leon's mouth, shifting his body so he could reach a hand between them to stroke Leon's erection.

"Cloud!" Leon tried to pull away but he was held. As he traced a line down the brunette's chest with his lips, Cloud managed to undo Leon's pants and pull away some of the tight material.

Leon automatically raised his hips, letting Cloud tug the leather further down. Cool metal ran along his arousal as it was freed causing Leon to gasp and arch. Cloud raised his head to get a good look at the brunette, who had his head thrown back, hair fanned around him.

Cloud licked his lips before tentatively licking the tip of Leon's erection. He smirked for a second when he found out that he was correct: Leon was a loud one.

Slowly, Cloud ran his tongue down the other man's erection, blue eyes watching Leon's hands grab fistfuls of the blankets and moan loudly. That noise, of course, was nothing compared to the howl Cloud wrung from Leon as he took the delicious arousal deep into his mouth.

Cloud wondered, momentarily, if he'd end up actually taking the other man. But that could be discussed in a moment. He had one other thought before he continued pleasuring the other man: Sora had been right.


	5. Chapter 5

His mind kept telling him he was behaving like a lost puppy, eagerly following the first thing that seemed like it would take care of him. Of course, he knew Sephiroth was going to take care of him... In multiple ways. Ignoring his mind, he gazed intently at the ass of the man he was following. Well, trying to gaze - most of the angel-god's posterior was hidden beneath layers of leather and that long silver hair.

Riku paused for a second, noting how Sephiroth held his wing. It was folded against his body, but still very obvious. It wasn't something he chose to hide, or even could hide. Not like Cloud.

A couple steps later, Riku stopped short while revelation after revelation flooded his mind. Sephiroth had a right wing, Cloud had a left wing, and both were searching for someone. So Sephiroth was waiting for Cloud. It all made sense in the strange way things had been making sense lately. Cloud was the other half of this beautiful creature...

"You stopped."

Riku came out of his reverie to stare into Sephiroth's bright green eyes. He couldn't very well explain what he knew. Not until he had the power he wanted, needed. Not until the other man had taken him and shown him everything he needed to know. Had taken care of everything, including his still very obvious erection. Besides, he didn't even know how to explain that not only did he know where the god's other half was, but that he'd lost...

"Sorry, Sir." It sounded ridiculous and Riku kicked himself inwardly.

"Daydreaming, were we?" A black-gloved hand reached down to cup Riku's chin and then brought his gaze to his own Mako green. "I can give you better things to think about."

Riku was lost in those eyes. They were so bright, like points of light. He swallowed, lost. Cloud's light - his fabled light...

Was. Kissing. Him.

Riku parted his lips in shock, letting Sephiroth slip his tongue between them to explore. The other of those perfect black-gloved hands, Riku didn't know which one, nor did he care, was tracing his arousal. He pressed into the touch, moaning into the mouth of the other.

All thoughts of Cloud slipped from his mind at that point as Riku let lust take over. He knew he was touching the other man, touching that perfect body, marveling at the power...

He didn't remember much between that moment and when he realized he was naked and sprawled on black silk sheets, stroking himself while watching Sephiroth undress.


	6. Chapter 6

Cloud wondered, momentarily, if he'd end up actually taking the other man. But that could be discussed later. He had one other thought before he continued pleasuring the other man: Sora had been right.

* * *

Leon's moans let Cloud know just how close his orgasm was, and Cloud almost considered stopping, just to get Leon to beg him. But that could come later, thought Cloud, as he watched Leon let go of the blankets and put his arms over his head, looking like he was futily trying to block the oncoming pleasure.

Cloud wondered just how Leon would look with a set of scratches running down his back.

He closed his eyes when he felt Leon tense. Seconds later the brunette came, arching high enough that Cloud had to grab his hip and force him still. With a still full mouth, Cloud crawled up to kiss Leon, letting the other man taste his own seed.

They stayed that way, kissing, for a few minutes, Cloud moving on top of Leon slowly. He pressed himself against Leon's body, letting Leon feel just how badly he needed release. He didn't realize his exact posture until hands came up to touch his back and stroke what they could of his extended wing. That only caused him to moan into the mouth his tongue was currently exploring and grind himself against Leon's leg.

"Leon... I need..." Cloud said as he tried to take in air. "I want..."

Leon opened his eyes and looked at Cloud for a second before rolling him off to the side, hand still gently massaging the base of his wing.

Cloud settled onto his back the best he could, noticing Leon wouldn't let go of the wing until he was obviously comfortable. When he did let go, Cloud was surprised that it was the first thing Leon went for, trailing his lips to the tip and nipping along the muscle and bone of the top.

Cloud was in heaven, eyes shut as waves of pleasure rolled over him. Just when he thought he was going to go over the edge just from that, Leon moved to kiss his lips again, and wrap a hand firmly around Cloud's arousal.

Somewhere in the back of Cloud's mind, he realized something important. He was not going to get to find out just how hot, tight and inviting Leon was anytime soon. There were only two options now: accept the handjob and the orgasm that went with it, then grumble later when Leon wasn't around; or grumble now and probably not get another chance.

Well, the correct option was rather obvious.

Cloud tangled his claws into Leon's hair as they kissed, thrusting lightly against Leon's hand to set a quick pace for them both. Tongues twined and moaning into each other's mouths, Cloud let himself go, spilling himself over Leon's hand and his own stomach.

They lay there a few minutes, not letting go of each other and pulling what they could of the blankets over themselves.

* * *

"I'm going to get a drink."

"What?" Icy blue looked into the blond's own glowing eyes.

"I need a drink." Cloud untangled himself from the blankets and stood up, grabbing at his clothing without much of a second glance down at Leon.

"You're leaving?" A hand reached out to him for a second before pulling back. "Whatever." The tone was suddenly harsh, and Leon rolled away, letting Cloud dress silently.

* * *

"Who used who?" Cloud said to himself as he pushed through the gates into First District. He wasn't really sure where he was going yet, but knew there was a cafe nearby. He closed his eyes for a moment as he walked, trying to smell the proper direction. Before he figured it out though, something crashed into him.

"Watch it, ya jerk!" "Don't touch me," she hissed, pulling her hand back. "And watch where ya walk."

Cloud watched the woman stalk off, idly curious why she wasn't wearing any shoes.

* * *

"Here you go."

Cloud looked up at the black-haired waitress as she set a mug of lemonade down in front of him. "I haven't ordered anything."

"It's spiked. Heavily. You look like you need it."

Before Cloud could say anything, she'd sat down in the other chair and had his claws between her hands.

"Now," she began, meeting his eyes. "You were here a few hours ago with one of the most delectable men in town. And now you look like you either ran into about a dozen heartless too many... or just one in the shape of Leon."

Cloud finished his lemonade quickly, wondering just how much alcohol was in there. Not that'd feel much of it. "I don't want to talk about it."

Hands didn't leave his claws. "I didn't ask you to."

"So go already." Cloud really just wanted to be alone. Or something... He wasn't really sure, but he was more upset than anything and just wanted to punch something.

She dropped his hand and stood up. "I'll make you something for dinner. What do you like?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't have the gil to pay for it."

"Doesn't matter. You'll repay me somehow," the waitress said, walking back to the kitchen and pushing inside.

* * *

Cloud left the cafe, several mugs of alcohol-spiked-with-lemonade later, smiling just a bit and carrying a plastic bag filled with food and drinks for dinner. The black-haired waitress had finally shooed him away with a spatula after telling him that some things couldn't be rushed.

He walked through the street, narrowly missing a moogle, and pushed through the doors to Third District with an entirely new plan. Well, he thought it was a new plan, but it really wasn't that different than the old one.

The lights were on in Leon's house when the blond opened the door. Leon was sitting at the table, meticulously cleaning his weapon.

"You came back?" He barely looked up.

"I brought dinner. The cafe waitress said it was what you normally order."

"Oh." This time he didn't look up, even when Cloud set the bag down an inch away from where he was working.

Cloud dug things from the bag, spreading them out on the table. There were several bottles of something that looked suspiciously like tainted lemonade.

Taking his food and a bottle, Cloud sat down on the sofa and tried to watch Leon from the corner of his eye as Leon slowly poked through the food he'd been given.

Cloud rolled his eyes before fixing his attention solely on eating.

* * *

The surprising part was that a little while later, a seemingly content and perhaps slightly inebriated Leon sat down next to Cloud, who was busy jotting down a few things for Yuffie that he'd remembered.

"Are you upset over something?"

"What do you think?" Cloud didn't look over at the other man.

"You aren't supposed to answer a question with a question." Leon leaned over to look at Cloud's notes. "What are you writing?"

"Yuffie wants me to write down things I remember; she and Aerith are trying to put together what's happened to us so far." Cloud held the notes over to Leon, who took them hesitantly.

After reading over a couple poorly scrawled pages, Leon over at Cloud.

"What?" Cloud snapped, grabbing the papers back.

"I was going to ask if you thought we should call this a night," Leon said, leaning back and putting his arms on the back of the sofa, one slightly behind Cloud but not touching him.

Cloud glared, setting the notes and pen on the arm of the sofa quickly. He was ready for a fight.

After another moment, Leon moved a hand to his head. "What?"

"I should be asking that. Has anyone mentioned you have the people skills of a brick?" Cloud shifted slightly, ready to leap up and exchange blows if he had to.

"Whatever. I could say the same about you."

The glaring match continued, neither one saying anything until Cloud reached his claw-tipped hand over to cup Leon's chin. Icy eyes opened wide, surprised at the non-violent contact.

"Tell me something," Cloud said quietly. He'd suddenly realized the other man might be in a position similar to his, if not worse.

Leon nodded. "What?"

"Did you lose someone?"

Leon winced visibly. "I don't even remember."

"Oh." Cloud leaned in a bit closer, his mind quickly adding things together. Leon had gotten up to sit with him, and wasn't flinching away from his touch. The face wasn't quite as lovely as the one Leon made in the throes of passion, but the calm curiosity was rather... exciting.

Cloud reached a decision. He was going to take Leon to bed. Now.

He stood slowly, not letting the other man go as he reached his other hand to grab one of Leon's hands.

"What are you doing?" Leon asked, going along with it anyway.

"You said something about going to bed, didn't you?" Cloud replied, pulling Leon to him and kissing his neck.

"Cloud." It was firm and he didn't know how to take it. He took the risk though.

"One night." He ran his hands down so he was holding Leon tightly. When Leon didn't fight to pull away, Cloud brought those claws back up to lightly scratch where he'd kissed.

Leon moaned at the sensation and caught Cloud's lips with his.

They seemed to pull each other to the bedroom, shedding clothing all the way.

"Anyone ever tell you that you move too fast?" Leon asked as Cloud unzipped Leon's pants with his teeth.

Cloud shook his head, pulling leather down over slim hips. "Am I?"

"A little."

"Do you want me to stop?"

Leon shook his head while his erection was licked from base to tip.

Cloud smiled wickedly. "Just checking." He'd already shed most of his clothing, claws included, and was doing his best to rid Leon of his.

A moment later they were kissing again, each trying to get closer to the other as their arousals touched and rubbed deliciously.

Finally Leon knocked them both to the bed, only to quickly pull away.

Cloud's blue eyes flew open. "What?"

"Your wing," Leon said. "I didn't hurt it, did I?"

Cloud shook his head. "It takes more than falling on a bed to hurt it."

"Oh." Another kiss, this one letting Cloud push Leon onto his back.

"Let me up," Leon said, talking and panting together.

Cloud didn't question, just watched as Leon dug through a pile of odds and ends on a nearby crate top. All he could think about was just how enticing Leon's ass was.

Leon crawled back onto the bed, kissing Cloud's neck as he pressed something into his hand.

Cloud smiled, watching Leon settle onto his back.

"Roll over."


	7. Chapter 7

Riku was a little embarrassed, having literally exploded (or at least that's how it felt to him) not more than a minute after Sephiroth first touched him.

The silver-haired god seemed only amused, however, as he licked his fingers in an almost cat-like manner. A moment later he glanced down at Riku, who was still panting and shaking slightly.

Riku just closed his eyes and moaned as Sephiroth cleaned the last bits of seed from his stomach.

Those hands... Riku couldn't believe Sephiroth's hands, pulled from black gloves in the single most arousing manner. He'd taken them off by grabbing the tips of each middle finger between his teeth and tugged his hands slowly free, one at a time, before running bare skin down his own chest, accentuating the perfect muscles.

Riku moaned remembering it... He'd lost himself in the other man. He wanted the power he promised.

He wondered if it could be drank from the god's body straight, or if it would overwhelm him. He knew what Cloud's face looked like in the throes of ecstasy - this beautiful creature's other half... Would Sephiroth even lose himself like that, to passion and pleasure? Heavenly... It would be heavenly... What would he taste like?

That answer, Riku knew. Sephiroth would taste like power.

He did get to find out.

Sephiroth lay down beside Riku, still licking his lips for a moment. Gently, he kissed Riku, traveling from parted lips down over the other's neck and collarbone. At one point he stopped to leave what would become a healthy red and purple bruise - proof that this one belonged to him.

Riku moaned as he was touched; realizing that slim, perfect body was tight to his. And Sephiroth needed him.

Shifting positions slowly to let Sephiroth spread his wing comfortably across the bed, Riku kissed him quickly before glancing downward with awe and slight fear at this erection.

Straight. From. The. Source.

Each murmur of approval and slight moan of pleasure only fueled Riku's desire to please the other man... To drink from him.

Sephiroth smiled down at his new student before closing his glittering green eyes. Riku was sprawled, unaware of his own position, both hands touching where his mouth couldn't.

Sephiroth moaned, wondering - just for a moment - who could have taught Riku so well.

He savored Riku's touch and the feel of his hot tongue. It was wonderful.


	8. Chapter 8

Cloud didn't question, just watched as Leon dug through a pile of odds and ends on a nearby crate top. All he could think about was just how enticing Leon's ass was.

* * *

"Leon! Cloud! Help!" Fists pounded at the front door, causing both men to jump upright and stare at each other.

"Please!" The voice, Yuffie's, continued. "Cloud! The heartless have Aerith!"

Before Leon could even move, Cloud was off the bed and pulling his pants on. He didn't bother with anything else as he raced outside, almost running straight into the wide-eyed ninja.

"Cloud!" Yuffie caught him in her arms. "Over there!"

She pointed across the open area to a corner where darkness was swarming over something. A split second later Cloud saw a trace of pink beneath the pile.

"Aerith!" Without a second thought, Cloud pushed Yuffie aside and leapt off the raised area where their houses were.

Yuffie rushed to the railing, not noticing as Leon came up behind her. Both watched in awe as Cloud spread his wing, using it to glide near-perfectly through the air.

A moment later he'd dropped into the pile of shadows, which scattered quickly as he emerged holding Aerith against him.

The heartless looked oddly confused as they watched Cloud clutch the woman tightly with one arm, the other out to block any of the black creatures that dared try something.

"This one belongs to me!" Cloud yelled. "You do not touch her!" He wrapped his outstretched arm around Aerith, who was clinging to him as well. The shadows quickly vanished, either into thin air or around corners and into the brickwork of the district.

"Cloud?" Aerith raised her face from where it was buried against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Blue eyes looked into her green and he slowly fixed some of her disheveled hair.

"You saved me."

Cloud smiled, not wanting to let her go yet.

"It's about time."

They stared at each other a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Group hug!" A voice yelled as the pair was nearly knocked off balance.

"Yuffie!" Aerith exclaimed, removing one arm from Cloud and putting it around Yuffie.

The three of them stayed that way a moment, until Cloud suddenly remembered...

He looked up slowly, just in time to see Leon turn and walk away.

* * *

Pain. Anger. Frustration.

Leon walked into the kitchen, too upset to sit down.

He thought he'd found someone... He sat down after another minute of thoughtless angry pacing and put his head in his hands.

More rejection. All it took was one of those women... Sure, he liked them enough, but if anyone should have rescued Aerith, it should have been him. Not that... He slammed a hand down against the wood.

Aerith... He knew she and Cloud had some sort of history; he was so quick to rescue her, to not let her go after just letting him go...

He pushed the chair back so hard it fell over as he stood up. He'd never been good with his emotions but he'd finally tried to...

He was always getting rejected. Many of his memories were gone but the feelings were still strong. There was someone he... But, that person was gone.

And now Cloud. There was something supernatural about him. Not just the wing either. Just. Him.

Something about the blond that he would just offer himself.

Cloud... There was another blond once... Leon sighed.

There was another blond once... And Leon had offered himself...

How long had he been standing there? Long enough Cloud should have returned, unless... Unless he was just being toyed with...

Those supernatural blue eyes... Leon realized something as he locked the front door. Cloud may not be a heartless, but his heart was not his own.

He wondered where Sora was. Sora's heart didn't belong to either of them, but he gave his body willingly enough.

Leon walked back towards the bedroom and caught sight of the pile of clothing on the floor, both his and Cloud's...

He put his fist through the wall.

* * *

Cloud sighed, knowing the night was over before it had begun.

"...right, Cloud?" Yuffie looked up, expectant.

"What was that?"

Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "I said, good thing I got you when I did, right, Cloud?"

"Oh. I guess." He had an arm around each woman as they walked back across the open area.

"I'm just happy I had my bodyguard to save me," Aerith said before giggling. "This is just like old times."

"What were you doing out there anyway?" Cloud asked.

"Oh! I was just visiting Cid. I made him tea and we ended up talking for quite awhile," Aerith explained. "The shadows appeared right when I crossed back into the district. I guess I panicked and ran the wrong way."

"Good thing I saw you!" Yuffie exclaimed, beaming.

"Why didn't you rescue me?" Aerith asked, peering around Cloud at the other woman.

"Too many of them... I'm not strong enough," Yuffie said.

"Doesn't Leon practice with you?" Cloud asked as they started up the steps.

Yuffie shook her head. "Not since Sora first showed up."

"Practice with me?"

"Sure thing, Cloud!"

"And Aerith, you should be armed too." He really couldn't believe she didn't walk around with at least some sort of weapon.

Aerith nodded. "I once hoped to never have to fight again."

Yuffie opened the door to their house. "Coming in, Cloud?"

He shook his head. "I was in the middle of something."

Aerith giggled again, letting go to look at him. He'd almost forgotten he was wearing only a pair of jeans. He was basically naked, especially without something covering his wing... Aerith had been pressed close to that side of him... "About to get in the shower?" she asked.

Cloud quickly nodded.

"Shower here!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I have your clothes clean."

"I really need to go back to Leon, er, to Leon's house," the blond stammered. "My other things... Can I stop by in the morning?"

Cloud briefly thought about appending that to afternoon, as he hoped Leon would also take up his morning.

"Of course, Cloud," Aerith replied. "Just remember, you - wing and all - are always welcome with us." She smiled and followed Yuffie into the house.

He stood there a moment, realizing he had been accepted again, something he wasn't sure would ever happen.

Once alone, Cloud realized two things: The ground was cold to his bare feet and, a few steps later, Leon had locked him out.

* * *

The hot water ran over his body, tracing odd lines over his muscles on its way to the drain.

He didn't know what he wanted. Or, more correctly, he never could really tell anyone what he wanted. He claimed to be a loner... But he cherished the time he had with Sora, and Aerith and Yuffie. They didn't cling, often.

It was nice to have someone who... No, Cloud was just a heartless... One who was going to make him forget the shadows that lurked outside his door.

Little did he know that at that moment, as slightly soapy streams of water trailed down his body, Cloud was a shadow outside his door.


	9. Chapter 9

The hot water ran over his body, tracing odd lines over his muscles on its way to the drain.

He didn't know what he wanted. Or, more correctly, he never could really tell anyone what he wanted. He claimed to be a loner... But he cherished the time he had with Sora, and Aerith and Yuffie. They didn't cling, often.

It was nice to have someone who... No, Cloud was just a heartless... One who was going to make him forget the shadows that lurked outside his door.

Little did he know that at that moment, as slightly soapy streams of water trailed down his body, Cloud was a shadow outside his door.

* * *

Cloud walked through first district, not seeing another person until he noticed a small body curled in a doorway. At first he thought the girl was asleep, but the second he got close, her eyes snapped open.

"What do you..." She stopped, meeting Cloud's eyes. It was the girl with the braided hair that he'd bumped into earlier. Of all the miserable luck. This was not his night.

"Sorry," Cloud mumbled, walking away. His feet were cold. And the girl's idea of sleeping in a doorway seemed functional.

"Wait!"

Cloud turned to see the girl standing up and shrugging off a pair of blankets. "What?"

"Take one of these," she said, offering a blanket. "You look cold."

He didn't say anything as he took what was offered.

"You don't have anyone to stay with? Where's your clothes?" The girl kept asking questions. "Get thrown out?"

With a glare, Cloud turned and left. He knew he should thank the girl, but now was not the time. The last thing he wanted was a long conversation, and that's about what it seemed like he was going to end up with, if he stayed.

"See ya?" The girl was settling back down to sleep.

Cloud turned the corner, realizing he'd walked right to Cid's shop. And the doorway here would more than suffice. Once he'd figured out how to cover both his body and wing with the small ragged blanket, he let his thoughts wander to the events of the day.

* * *

Leon was on his knees in the shower, oblivious to the water raining down on him as he replayed the afternoon in his mind. His hands were nothing compared to how Cloud's mouth had worked over him earlier, but without the blond here...

He didn't think to curse himself for shutting the other man out. At the moment he was lost within pleasure, no matter where it came from. Each motion of his hands over his slick arousal recalled some vivid memory of being intimately touched. Or touching. Cloud had been desperately hard in his hands.

He let out a low moan as orgasm overtook him, spilling himself over his hands only to be quickly washed away. Maybe... Cloud didn't want a relationship. That much was clear. Maybe... He could allow himself a little fun.

Surely Cloud was somewhere safe for the night. Turning off the water, Leon stumbled from the shower to dry himself quickly and fall into bed.

* * *

A sharp kick in the side woke Cloud from a dream of the past. He opened his eyes only to realize Cid was standing over him, cigarette in one hand.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cid asked. "Crazy bastard."

"Sleeping," Cloud replied slowly, trying to memorize some of the dream, but it was gone too quickly. There had been something, someone. He sighed.

"In my fucking doorway? You'll scare off customers."

"Thanks, Cid." Untangling himself from the blanket, Cloud stood up slowly, stretching his body out, wing last. Folding it back against his body, he threw the blanket over his shoulders, half to hide the black oddity and half to block the chilly morning air.

"Get in here," Cid said, putting his cigarette between his lips and using both hands to pull Cloud inside. "Just why the fuck are you half-dressed and sleeping out there?" The pilot paused. "Do I even fucking want to know?"

"Well..." Cloud wasn't sure how to explain, really. "Um..."

Cid hit himself in the head with one hand after he closed the shop door. "I don't want to fucking hear this, do I?"

Cloud sat down on the threadbare sofa and stared at his feet, which were quite dirty by this point. "I accidentally got locked out." It was the truth. He was locked out, and it was an accident he'd upset Leon enough to get locked out.

"Where are your fucking clothes?"

"I wasn't wearing them." There was no way to lie around that fact, anyway.

"I'll find you something to wear. Fuck. Why didn't you knock? Or go to the cafe?" Cid was walking into the back of the shop.

"Cafe?" Cloud asked loudly.

"They're always open, whether the sign says so or not!" Cid yelled back before reappearing with an armload of clothes, which he threw over to Cloud. "Get dressed. We'll get breakfast."

"I can't afford..." Cloud began, happily finding himself some socks in the pile.

"Fuck it. I'm buying," Cid said. "And I expect to hear what the fuck caused you to be out in the streets last night too."

"Can I cut this?" Cloud asked, holding up a shirt. "My wing..."

Cid nodded, producing a pocketknife. "Aerith was talking about that last night. Weird fucking thing, but it looks good on you."

Cloud smiled for a second before remembering it was Aerith who'd caused his problem. He quickly slashed the shirt and put it on, arranging the blanket back over his body afterward. Cid had even found him a pair of shoes to wear, thankfully.

"Thanks, Cid," Cloud said as he tied the laces on the ugly things. They were better than nothing though.

"Let's go eat. I want my morning tea."

* * *

They were no sooner to the cafe than the black-haired waitress appeared with Cid's tea.

"You're late," she chided, setting a cup and teapot down before turning to look at Cloud. "And you!"

"You two have met?" Cid asked.

"I know every body in town," the waitress replied. "This one was here twice yesterday and I thought I'd helped him out..." She trailed off when she realized Cloud still hadn't looked up.

"Leave me alone," Cloud said slowly, eyes on the moogle-made candle.

"I'll deal with him," Cid said, waving the waitress away. "The usual. And the same for him."

"Tea?" she asked, snapping the candle out with her bare hand.

Cloud looked up and after a moment he nodded.

The waitress sauntered off the second the candle re-lit, only to appear a second later with another cup. She poured straight from Cid's pot.

"I have another one on for ya," she said, sitting down and smoothing her long black button down skirt and white apron. "Now, what happened to the plan?"

Cloud glared at her. "The plan changed midway."

"What fucking plan?" Cid demanded, lighting a new cigarette off the candle.

"See, yesterday..."

"This is not your business," Cloud cut in.

"Well it should be," Cid replied. "It's all our business after you ended up sleeping on the street. Either of us would have taken you in no matter what time of night."

"I needed to be alone anyway," Cloud replied, annoyed at the constant questioning. His eyes darted across the cafe as he noticed the girl with the braids sit down at another table. Their eyes caught and she waved quickly.

The waitress saw the girl too and quickly excused herself.

"Everyone in this town is crazy," Cloud said after a moment.

"What makes you say that?" Cid asked, leaning back, tea in hand.

"That girl, the waitress, Leon, you, me... We're all crazy," Cloud explained.

"You're the crazy one. The women who run this place are nosy but willing to help anyone, especially those who are new in town. That girl probably just lost her world. There's nothing wrong with me. And Leon..." Cid paused, putting the pieces together. He choked on a swallow of tea. "Leon?!"

Cloud put his head down. This was going to be a horrible day. Luckily the blond-haired cook appeared just then with two plates of food. She glared over at her co-worker, who was lost in conversation across the room. "Here you boys go. Need anything else?" She set the plates down and smiled.

Cid shook his head and poked at Cloud, who finally looked up. "I wouldn't know where to begin."

The woman laughed before heading back to the kitchen. "We're always open, if you figure it out."

* * *

"You want me to what?" Cloud couldn't believe his ears.

"You're fucking broke and you already explained you can't bash shadows for money," Cid replied. "This will help us both."

Cloud grumbled. The last thing he wanted to do was spend eight hours a day rearranging various sizes of guppy blocks, or whatever they were.

"Eight hours a day moving gumby blocks? That's..."

"Gummi blocks," Cid corrected, putting out his latest cigarette. "You can start now, if you'd like."

After a few brief thoughts of other things he could be doing, like explaining to Aerith and Yuffie where his borrowed clothes were or trying to con Leon into giving his sword back, Cloud nodded, and began his new job.

Sometime after noon, the black-haired waitress came running into the back of the shop with a bag of food, which she quickly handed to Cloud.

"Lunch!" she said, before scurrying off without asking for payment.

Cloud shrugged and went to find Cid. They hadn't been charged for breakfast either, something Cid noted happened on occasion. He wondered how the cafe stayed in business for a moment before Cid snatched the bag away to check what was inside. Maybe it was part of taking care of the new people in town.

* * *

Leon had collected Cloud's belongings and bagged what he could, setting them near the door. He wasn't sure Cloud would want to stay with him after all that had happened.

But Leon was firm in his resolution from the night before. If it truly meant nothing, he'd play along. Fun was something long lost to him, for the most part.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Leon wondered just how awkward this would be and what end result would be reached. Spiky hair greeted him, but it wasn't Cloud.

"Sora?"

"Leon! I'm back for a few days to get supplies - well, I sent the guys to get supplies and whatever. So I have some free time." Sora didn't bother to hide his meaning as he strode into the house and flopped down on the couch, legs apart and head back.

Leon licked his lips as he closed the door.

* * *

Aerith and Yuffie had shown up at Cid's midway through the afternoon. Both latched on to Cloud and chewed him out for not showing up that morning.

"Can we take him shopping?" Aerith asked, batting her eyes at Cid.

Cloud looked helplessly at Cid as the pilot thought it over.

"Get him the fuck out of here, but let me pay him first," Cid replied before leaving to retrieve some money.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Yuffie said, clasping her hands and rocking back on her heels. "But why are you here?"

"So I can afford to shop with you two," Cloud replied. He hoped they wouldn't drag him into any dress shops. Aerith would probably get ideas again.

The women took that as an acceptable answer and once Cloud had his day's pay in hand, they dragged him out of Cid's and towards a shop run by three talking ducks.

"This one!" Aerith cried, holding out a staff for Cloud's inspection. "Isn't it perfect?"

"Nice." So far every one Aerith had looked had been 'perfect'. He sighed. "How strong is it?"

One of the ducks, the one in green, Cloud had forgotten their names already, rattled off a plethora of information. Aerith nodded and looked to Cloud.

"Well?"

"Aerith, it's your decision."

"But do you think it'll be okay?" She giggled. "I need my bodyguard's opinion!"

Half an hour later, they left the shop, Aerith clutching the first staff she'd looked at. Once into an open area she twirled it about and leapt at an imaginary enemy. She may not have had the same power she once did, but the form was still there. Cloud smiled, watching her for a moment.

"Go Aerith!" Yuffie yelled. The ninja had stocked up on potions that clicked against one another in their bag as she bounced after Aerith.

"Come on, Cloud!" Aerith called, motioning for him to follow them into second district. "You need new clothes. And I want to stop in the dress shop too." She winked, and Cloud groaned before following.

He had enough money to buy himself a few outfits and new shoes - enough to get him through the month. Actually, once he thought about it, he'd never owned this much clothing. And Aerith had kept the dress shop visit brief, thankfully.

As they crossed back into Third District, they ran into a certain pair of talking animals minus one annoying teen. After exchanging pleasantries each group went on their way.

"That must mean Sora is at Leon's," Aerith said. "You should stop in while Yuffie and I put these things away." She held up the bags she was carrying. "And grab your sword so we can start practicing. I'm so excited!"

Yuffie tagged behind Aerith into their house, bouncing and babbling about how much fun it would be to spar with Cloud again.

Tentatively Cloud knocked at Leon's door, wondering if Leon wouldn't just ignore him. Instead, a moment later the door swung open. "Cloud?"

Cloud looked down at who'd opened the door. Aerith was correct. A rather flushed Sora stood there, blue eyes staring up into Cloud's own.

"Sora."

Yet neither moved. Sora didn't ask Cloud in and Cloud didn't try to push past him to where he could see his things sitting.

"What are you doing here? I figured you'd be at the Coliseum. There's apparently someone new there but I can't fight him yet. But I want to." Sora's enthusiasm to fight showed through his obvious...

Cloud looked away, realizing he'd obviously interrupted a rather private moment. Sora's outfit was baggy, but not totally unrevealing. "I just need my things." He pointed at the pile.

"Things?" Sora turned, noticing the pile for the first time. "Oh. Were you..." He left the question unasked.

"I've been staying with Leon," Cloud replied, wondering just how that would be taken. Where was Leon, anyway? Cloud finally pushed inside and grabbed what he could of his armor and clothing and heaving it past Sora and out the door. Finally he grabbed his sword and without a word, went out the door himself.

"Um, see you later, Cloud?" Sora said, a bit confused. Leon? Cloud? He paused as he watched Cloud kick his belongings down the sidewalk towards Aerith and Yuffie's house. Together? Sora shut the door and leaned against it, trying to imagine the two entwined on Leon's bed. The thought was...

"Sora? Who was it?" Leon walked out of the bedroom. He wasn't wearing much.

"Huh? Oh, nothing..." Sora said, images burning in his mind.

* * *

"He is a hard one to get along with," Yuffie said. "Trust me, we know."

Cloud threw the last of his armor into a pile in the corner of the girls' kitchen and sat down on a chair. Either they were oblivious to what was going on next door or they were purposely ignoring it.

"But you can stay with us if you'd like. Or Cid. I bet he'd take you in," Aerith said, giggling. "Of course, it'd be constant cussing and hearing about those ships he works on."

Cloud groaned before excusing himself to the bathroom to change back into his normal clothes, the ones Yuffie had washed and mended for him.

"Ready?" he asked when he came back out feeling a little better about the situation. There was something about that outfit that was comforting, but he wasn't sure why.

Aerith nodded and picked up her staff. It was long and silver-colored with harsh-looking rounded tips. Yuffie grabbed Conformer and followed the pair out of the house and down into the open area below.

It was full of shadows. Aerith grabbed onto Cloud's arm, forgetting she was armed, but the black creatures scattered, revealing the same girl with the braids fighting a remaining pair. With a quick swipe she finished them, grabbing the resulting money quickly.

"You!" both she and Cloud cried, seeing each other again.

"You scared them off! But how..." She paused, putting her battered sword back in place against her body.

"I have a contract. We can't touch each other. They somehow know that and leave when I show up." Cloud couldn't believe he was explaining to the girl, but... She had helped him out.

"Oh. I kinda wanted to get them, I mean, the money and all..." She trailed off. "You still have my blanket, too!"

Cloud almost smiled, stepping forward and pulling the last of his day's pay from where he'd transferred it to. "Here. I'll give you more tomorrow. And your blanket back."

The girl looked at the money and smiled before excusing herself quickly.

"You know her?" Yuffie asked.

"We keep running into each other," Cloud said. "She was sleeping on the street last night too. Cid said she's new - just lost her world."

Aerith nodded. "There's more all the time."

* * *

Aerith seemed to remember quite a bit of her previous training, even if it wasn't on a conscious level. Each move she made was graceful and calculated, but she didn't have the strength to inflict much damage. Cloud barely swayed even when she hit him as hard as she could.

Well, she claimed it was, but Cloud didn't really think she'd use her full force on a friend.

"What if I was a heartless?" Cloud asked, stalking toward Aerith and trying to look menacing.

"You aren't!" Aerith replied, giggling. Yuffie joined in from where she was sitting.

Cloud leapt into the air and stretched out his wing, effectively startling Aerith. She swung at him before he could land and connected twice as hard as she had before.

Cloud still tackled her and knocked them both over. Luckily he could use his wing to break their wall and he gently set Aerith on the ground. "You okay?" He was on his knees next to her, looking at her dazed expression with a bit of worry.

"You scared me!" She whapped him with the staff again.

Cloud rubbed his arm where the previous blow had hit. It hurt a bit. There was hope. With a smile he helped her to her feet and pulled his sword. "Hit me again."

Aerith tried until she was out of breath.

"You got him twice!" Yuffie called when Aerith finally asked for a break.

"Twice?" Aerith repeated, a bit disappointed. "Oh." She looked over at the ninja, who was scrambling to her feet. "You do better!"

"I will," Yuffie replied, not wasting a second as she lunged at Cloud, a battle cry escaping her lips.

* * *

Those weren't battle cries coming from Leon's, but none of the three heard them. They were too caught up in old times until late in the evening.


	10. Chapter 10

"Your clothing is much too complicated," Leon said, finally freeing Sora of his outfit and gazing over his prone form.

Sora fought back a laugh. Did Leon have no idea just how hard it was to peel leather off another person's body?

Leon reached for the small container of lubricant, fighting off thoughts of Cloud, who should have claimed him the same way he was about to take Sora.

Neither were willing to admit how much they needed this encounter. Spreading his body over Sora's, Leon softy kissed his lips, tasting wonderful sweetness as he traced them with his tongue. Candy, he thought, wondering if it'd come from the cafe ladies or from someone else. It didn't matter; Sora's entire mouth was sweet as he explored the depths of it, hungry for more.

Sora moaned under him, trying to grind their bodies together, to get their arousals to touch and send sparks through them both.

"Sora," Leon murmured once he'd broken the kiss. He slid himself lower, kissing Sora's neck and shoulders. Sora had distinct tan lines that hadn't been there before. Where had he been this time? It didn't matter at the moment as Leon traced them with his tongue before lightly pulling at a sensitive earlobe with his teeth.

He already knew he could make Sora come just doing this, and the way Sora was writhing beneath him and moaning, it could just happen this time. But that would be a waste.

Sliding himself down further, Leon spread Sora's legs as far as he could and opening the lubricant, all the while letting his eyes wander over every inch of Sora's body. The one who practically begged him for training, and for this. He didn't know just what Sora went though out there, but always, always he ended up at Leon's house, needing to forget.

Slowly he eased a slicked finger into Sora's opening and watching as his erection jumped untouched as Leon hit that spot inside.

"Leon!" Sora cried, pushing back against the finger that penetrated him. Leon took one last look as Sora threw his head back against the pillows and howled, hands grabbing the sheets wildly.

Closing his eyes, Leon took Sora's erection in his mouth at the same time he added another finger to his preparation. Seconds later his mouth was filled with warm seed, strangely sweet, like candy as well. Swallowing what he could, Leon pulled away from Sora completely, opening his eyes just long enough to prepare himself and thrust into Sora's panting form before shutting his eyes and turning himself over to raw desire and the heat.

Each thrust into the receptive body beneath his chased a shadow from his mind. They would come back, he knew, but it wouldn't be tonight. Minutes later, when his own orgasm claimed him, eclipsing his control and causing him to pound almost painfully hard into Sora, they all vanished, temporarily burned from existence by the lightning racing through his body.

But they'd be back. Everything he'd lost would come back to tease around the corners of his memory. And Cloud... Sora lay in his arms, kissing at his neck the way he had earlier. Why was he thinking about Cloud? Not tonight, tonight was for Sora who was hard again and skillfully stroking Leon's partial arousal to the same state.

* * *

Cloud had no clue where he was when he woke up. It took almost a minute of careful consideration in the dark to discern he was tangled in a pile of blankets on the floor somewhere...

Then it hit him. At least his short-term memory wasn't totally gone. He was on the floor in Cid's shop, where he'd crashed after Aerith made sure he was well fed. It was still the middle of the night, everything was dark but with a little concentration he could make out the faint outlines of the old sofa nearby.

He'd been dreaming. But he didn't remember... He rarely did. But... No, something of the dream was still there. He had felt so young and scared, but strong arms had held him, a voice had reassured him. Who?

Rolling onto his back, Cloud sprawled out, left arm mimicking the pattern of the wing it rested on. The motion had stripped him of most of the blankets, at least on his top half. He lay like that a moment before trying to pull at least one blanket over his bare chest and stomach. He thought he could use those reassurances now.

This all seemed like such an error on his behalf. Something was nagging inside him - he should go back to the Coliseum. He never should have left. Something...

What was there for him in this world? As soon as his ship was fixed and he'd worked off his debt... To everybody... And retrained Aerith to take care of herself... And gave a bit more money to the homeless girl...

A quiet sigh escaped Cloud's slightly parted lips.

At least he'd given her that blanket back earlier without incident. And Aerith seemed to be learning quickly. The coming day's pay would take care of his cafe tab and something for that girl. And his ship? Maybe another week or so...

He could make it another week.

Leon.

The name leapt into his mind without warning and Cloud groaned. After running into Sora in Leon's house, Cloud was rather sure he would never be welcomed back. Not that Leon had been very welcoming before.

He counted shadows in his head until he fell back to sleep.

* * *

"Wake up!" There was that sharp kick in the side again. Cloud moaned, trying to pull himself into consciousness before Cid tried something more drastic.

"Is it morning?" It didn't look like morning, but then again, yesterday hadn't looked much like morning either.

Cid didn't say anything as he walked out the door.

A few minutes and a bit more clothing later, Cloud followed. Cid was easy to find. Both of the cafe's staff was sitting with him.

"The usual?" The black-haired one asked, once Cloud came near. He nodded, not quite awake enough to realize he didn't have a usual.

* * *

"I hired us a test pilot, since I don't have the fucking time to do it myself," Cid announced, walking past Cloud with an armload of parts.

"What?"

"A fucking test pilot. To make sure these damned things work before I send them out," Cid replied, looking annoyed at having to stop moving and answer Cloud's questions.

"Why can't I do it?"

"Er..." Cid suddenly set down everything he held and pulled out a cigarette. "Fuck."

"Cid?" Cloud was confused. Cid was not the secret type. Something was up.

"Fuck. Cloud, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but..." Cid put his lighter away and took a long drag. "Leon stopped by before you came back last night. He said he didn't want any chance of you leaving."

Cloud's stomach lurched and he slowly sat down, putting his arms around his knees. Now, after everything, he was being held captive by his friends. Unless... He shook the thought from his head. There was no way Leon personally wanted him to stay. To them, he must just be a spy.

"Cid!" A loud voice called out through the garage. A moment later someone ran over to Cid, but Cloud couldn't be bothered to look up.

"Hey, it's you!"

Blue eyes looked up into an all too familiar face.

"That's right, you and Bradey know each other," Cid said before taking another drag off the cigarette.

"Bradey?" Cloud asked.

The girl nodded before blushing and looking away. "Cid named me. I... I can't remember my real name. But since I have braids..."

Cloud nodded before putting his head back down onto his knees. Cid had some weird taste in...

Bright blue eyes shot open in time to see Cid lead Bradey off towards the ship that had been hauled in yesterday for some sort of repair or maintenance.

* * *

At least, thought Cloud as he trudged over to Aerith's house at the end of the day, if Bradey was out in the void testing jelly ships, she wouldn't be pestering him. And he'd already told Cid to give his day's pay to her when she returned. One problem solved.

He paused at the entry to Third District. There was still the pesky problem of being stuck in Traverse Town. He pushed through the gate and walked into the middle of the open area. He didn't really want to get pestered by the women just yet. He had too much on his mind to deal with their eternal perkiness.

Flopping down on the stone, Cloud looked up at the sky. It seemed to always be some type of night in the world. Maybe that was why the shadows liked it so much. His wing protested the cold of the ground, but Cloud pushed the sensation aside. It wasn't often he got to spread it like this, except when he slept. The rest of the time it was his burden and best kept hidden, or at least folded close to his body.

If he had two wings, he wondered, could he have them in plain sight? Where would he find a right wing though? He couldn't even remember how he had gotten his wing. It was almost like he'd woken up with it and the demanding desire to find someone. His... light? Someone in the darkness had called to him. But he couldn't remember who it was. Or did he not want to?

"What are you doing?"

Cloud hadn't even noticed the footsteps approaching and now he was looking curiously up into ice blue eyes. Well, once he'd followed the lines of Leon's body upwards over leather, that is.

"Looking at the sky."

"You'll just see stars blinking out. It's not fun to watch." Leon took a couple steps to Cloud's right and crouched down.

"Done it before?" Cloud's voice was cold. All he wanted was some time alone and the object of his misery just had to appear.

"Yeah."

Cloud watched from the corner of his eye as Leon settled himself down on the ground, one leg folded underneath him as he sat, surveying the open area. The silence lasted a few tense minutes before Leon leaned over Cloud.

"Come spar."

"Why?"

"Because you're a good opponent," Leon said, leaning back.

Cloud sighed. He had the opportunity to beat the living daylights out the cause of his torment. And for a moment, he'd considered passing it up to mope about on the increasingly cold ground.

"What about Sora?" Cloud asked carefully.

"He ran off to play in Second District. He never sticks around for long," Leon answered, tracing a finger idly along one of the cracks in the pavement.

"Oh." Cloud got up, stretching as he did so. He wondered just how involved Leon and Sora were, besides the obvious.

"You don't think it's wrong, do you?" It was a sudden question and Cloud quickly looked over at Leon, who was standing and stretching as well.

"I have no room to talk," Cloud replied before turning and walking towards the girls' house to get his sword. Leon followed him silently to the top of the stairs before walking to his own house.

"I have no room to talk?" Leon repeated once he was in his kitchen. "What does that mean? Surely if he and Sora have..." He shook the thought away. That couldn't be it.

There was a tap at the door. "Leon?" It was Cloud, complete with armor and weapon. How long had he been standing there?

Leon grabbed his gunblade and walked to the door, opening it quickly.

"What did you mean by that?" he asked, looking Cloud over more completely. The armor hid a bit of the dirt that Cloud had accumulated during the day, but not all of it. Of course, the white T-shirt Cloud wore really did little to hide anything, including the muscle underneath.

"Mean by what?" Cloud asked. Even a minute with Aerith and Yuffie fussing over him was enough to erase most of the conversation just a few minutes ago. Especially when Yuffie had to paw him over, making sure each of the stitches she'd made to keep the back of his shirt from fraying had held. They had, of course, though Cloud didn't think he'd ever known the ninja was adept with any sharp pointy objects besides throwing stars.

"What you said," Leon replied, pushing open the gates to Second District. Two small shadows appeared the moment he did so and until Cloud stepped through the door they were slowly advancing on the brunette.

"When? About what?" Cloud was rewinding and fast-forwarding through all he could remember of every conversation he'd had with Leon.

"About not having room to talk when I asked how you felt about Sora and I..."

"Oh," Cloud cut Leon off as they walked through the back street of the district. "I... I just don't have room to say anything, that's all."

Leon's eyes narrowed. There was something going on all right, and he was going to find out. Lightning quick he spun around and held Cloud against the cool stone wall, not seeing the curious shadows who'd appeared once his back was turned.

"Tell me." His lips were close to Cloud's ear and he whispered the words harshly, almost hissing.

Cloud was surprised, to say the least. He'd wondered if Leon had it in him. And yes, Leon was quite capable of taking charge of the situation. "I..." he began, only to have Leon cut him off.

"You didn't do anything to Sora, did you?"

"No!" Cloud hissed back. "I..." He let his body relax under Leon's grip; he figured he may as well come clean before the stakes got any higher. "I told you. That first night... It's just... I didn't just train Riku to fight."

Leon sighed in relief. He did remember that and the rather incriminatory remarks that followed. He should have realized that... He was just the same as the heartless blond.

Just the same. Just. The. Same?

"Leon?"

"What?" Leon snapped, looking over at Cloud.

"I'll tell you what I know."

"About what?" Leon answered. His mind was going a hundred miles a second trying to rationalize everything.

"Those," Cloud replied, pointing to the dozen or so shadows who seemed to be patiently standing about twenty feet away. "They're getting bolder."

Leon took once glance at them and had his gunblade ready in a split second. Cloud shook his head and reached his claws to lower Leon's weapon.

"Go," he said, making a motion with his other hand for them to scamper along. Most of them obeyed, besides one who stood there a second longer before vanishing into thin air.

"Why didn't you let me destroy them?" Leon asked, knocking Cloud's hand away a moment later.

"Because!" Cloud cried. "I may not remember them, but I may have known them on my world." He paused, mouth open in revelation. "I may have loved them."

Leon froze. He knew the shadows were... But he'd never put it together. What if when he destroyed the shadows, he destroyed the chance of that person coming back when, or if, the worlds were restored. Or even if it didn't... Would it still hurt? Would it...

He squeezed his eyes shut tight for a minute before looking back at Cloud, who'd just reached a hand out to touch Leon's shoulder.

"Cloud?" He asked once the hand had touched him gently and his icy eyes had met sparkling blue.

"Yes?"

"You lost someone too."

"Yeah," Cloud replied, removing his hand as they kept walking. "But I barely remember. It's almost like I fell from their arms and have been falling ever since."

"And you landed here," Leon said.

Cloud nodded. He'd misunderstood some of Leon's anger from the beginning - some of his insecurities. Maybe the two of them could get along after all. "I'm trying to make the best of it. Why waste time being alone when you can't remember who you're supposed to be going home to?"


	11. Chapter 11

Sephiroth glanced down at the young man who slept beside him. He'd managed to pull the covers over both of them before Riku had fallen fully asleep. Still, Riku had protested a bit until he realized Sephiroth wasn't pushing him away. Half-asleep, he'd figured out his superior's intentions, then curled against Sephiroth's warm body before letting sleep claim him.

After setting his worn copy of 'The Odyssey' beside him, Sephiroth ran a hand through Riku's hair - not quite as soft as his own. Riku let out a small, pleasured moan and tried to snuggle closer.

Sighing, Sephiroth picked the book back up, holding it with the hand not stroking Riku's head. Riku reminded Sephiroth of someone, just a bit. Another young man who'd ended up in his bed, desperately wanting to be just like him.

But Riku obviously had more experience than the little blond had brought with him. Of course, that inexperience had been taken care of quickly. With this one, not knowing just what was going on in his head yet, Sephiroth thought it best to move slower.

Well, Sephiroth thought, as slow as flooding Riku's mouth with his hot seed could be. He smirked a moment, remembering the look on Riku's face as he'd cried out in orgasm. It was half shock and half rapture.

And then, poor thing, Riku had tried to swallow a bit more than he should have. Coughing and sputtering, he'd clung to Sephiroth afterwards, tears stinging his eyes as he tried to breathe. He had looked rather attractive with the come dripping off his chin however.

Almost like a kitten.

Sephiroth wondered if Riku would purr if he scratched behind the teen's ears. Grinning slightly, he turned back to the ridiculous adventures of Odysseus.

About an hour later, Sephiroth set the book aside. He wasn't far from the obvious ending, but flipping pages one-handed had started to be more trouble than it was worth. And every time he tried to take his other hand from Riku's head, Riku protested in his sleep and threatened to wake.

Surely, if he fell asleep so quickly, so easily, he needed it, thought Sephiroth. He'd seen it enough before - the young man he'd spent half his life working with was the same. Riku was at the age where sleep, food, sex, and a proper education were the only things of importance. In that order.

Still, Sephiroth managed to quickly swap his body with a few pillows, and Riku barely stirred. He dressed silently, taking the Masamune with him as he left the room. It was still early, and surely someone would put up a good fight.

Or not.

Was the only challenge he'd find here to involve training the young man who looked surprisingly like him? If that was so, he may as well wake Riku up.

His footsteps echoed eerily through the stone hallways as he walked back to his room. There was something very odd about the entire set up of the place, but he couldn't put a finger on it. There was something missing...

Or was he missing something.

Sephiroth paused with one black-gloved hand lightly touching the doorknob to his room. Surely he wasn't forgetting things.

But there was definitely something gone, lost somewhere between worlds. Lost along with the knowledge of how and why he had one perfectly feathered wing.

It all wrapped back to Cloud. The little blond. His little blond. Who he had let go of when... But it wasn't there.

Minutes ticked by as Sephiroth stood there; hand on the door knob, putting the puzzle pieces together in his mind.

How could he have forgotten?

Cloud. What if Cloud had forgotten him?

That would explain it. The one he considered his other half... Had. Forgotten. Him.

There was a slight click as Sephiroth opened the door to his suite of rooms. As he stepped into the bedroom and glanced at the still dozing young man, an idea formed in his mind.

"Riku," Sephiroth said, sitting down on the edge of his bed and again winding his fingers into Riku's hair. He couldn't feel it through the thin leather of his gloves, but he knew how it felt.

"Riku, I'll make you to be just like him."

* * *

"Stop holding back, Sephiroth!" Riku yelled, stepping back a bit to shake out his body. He'd long since cast off his shirt. Sweat gleamed on his tanned skin as the noonday sun beat down on the pair. He was getting tired, but didn't want to admit it yet.

"What makes you think I'm holding back?" Sephiroth asked, holding Masamune easily in one hand. His hair was still perfect, and he still wore his entire uniform despite the heat.

Riku lunged, trying to attack with the blade he'd been given, but it was sloppy. With one almost impossibly fast motion, Sephiroth blocked and sent Riku flying across the practice arena.

Slowly Riku stood, scowling as he retrieved his sword from where it had landed.

"Okay... So you were holding back. Can we rest?" It was more of a demand than a request. The last week had taught Riku that making any demand of Sephiroth besides 'harder' was in vain, but he was hot. And tired.

"Once you hit me, then you can rest," Sephiroth replied. Riku was grating on him. But less every day. Still, it was like he was holding back on something, hiding something.

Riku groaned. Did Sephiroth not realize how tired he was? How tired he always was...

Every day was the same - train all day in the hot sun, spend all night in bed, delighting in sensations he'd never thought possible.

He felt drained.

* * *

And empty.

Yet, thoughts of Sora rarely stayed long in his mind as Sephiroth glanced up at him from between his legs. It was like he was losing and gaining everything at once.

"Seph!" Riku closed his eyes, clutching at the blankets besides him as Sephiroth's tongue brushed his opening. He still hadn't found words to describe the ecstasy he got from feeling Sephiroth's tongue penetrating him like that. It was the single most erotic, arousing thing he could think of.

Sometimes he watched Sephiroth as the god talked. He knew what that tongue could do, how it felt against his arousal, how it felt...

The first time Riku had let himself be rolled onto his stomach while Sephiroth slowly touched, licked and kissed every inch of his body, claiming him, he'd... He'd thought of Sora. He had.

And he hadn't, really, since.

Sephiroth was guiding his arousal deep within Riku's body, gasping at the tight heat surrounding him.

Neither thought of what they'd lost.

And Riku knew he was growing stronger.

* * *

What was it, a week later? Riku wasn't sure. He blinked his eyes a few times, chasing away sleep as the bright morning sun danced down on him from the room's high windows.

"Seph?" There was only an empty spot beside him on the overly large bed. He felt strangely small when he was alone on it. It ached for lovers.

A moment later the bedroom door opened and Sephiroth walked in. It looked like he'd been up for quite a while. He smiled when he saw Riku sitting half-upright.

"You're awake. Good."

"Why?" Riku asked. Again, it was a bit harsh. He was just growing a little bored of the monotony. He hated monotony.

"You have a challenger waiting for you in the main arena. Get dressed."


	12. Chapter 12

"You lost someone too."

"Yeah," Cloud replied, removing his hand as they kept walking. "But I barely remember. It's almost like I fell from their arms and have been falling ever since."

"And you landed here," Leon finished.

Cloud nodded. He'd misunderstood some of Leon's anger from the beginning - some of his insecurities. Maybe the two of them could get along after all. "I'm trying to make the best of it. Why waste time being alone when you can't remember who you're supposed to be going home to?"

* * *

"...Whatever," Leon replied as they turned the corner into the main area of Second District. Neither said a word as they crossed to the alleyway entrance.

"What are you thinking?" Cloud asked suddenly, watching as Leon pushed the wooden doors open.

"Nothing."

"You're lying," Cloud replied, his voice echoing a bit.

"I'm thinking you talk too much," Leon said as he walked along the edge of the water.

"It's better to talk than to let it eat you inside," Cloud shot back. The slight urge to push Leon into the water flickered through his mind, just because.

"...Whatever."

"No, honestly, you mentioned someone. What do you remember..." Cloud trailed off, eyes caught on the hotel balconies, devoid of occupants, looking almost lonely. The hotel... An inn... Somewhere?

He put a hand to his head and stood there, searching for more.

"Cloud?" Ice blue eyes were watching him.

"I... I just had a thought..."

"About what?"

Cloud brushed his hand upward through his spikes. "The hotel."

"Oh yeah, you move too fast," Leon said, making a face and turning to go.

"That's not how I meant it," Cloud replied, sighing. "I meant that I had part of a memory come back. Something about a hotel, somewhere."

Leon turned back. "How much of your memory is missing?"

"Just people, events... I can't remember who I know, but seeing them... I can't remember how I met Yuffie, yet I know she'd steal my breakfast from under my nose." Cloud managed a smile. He was having a hard time talking about all of this. Especially since he seemed to be affected more than either of the women or Cid. Yet there was some big event that none of them could recall.

Or maybe they didn't want to? Had they repressed everything that was too painful, too complicated, and too close to their hearts?

"Cloud!"

He blinked, realizing Leon was suddenly in his face.

"What?"

"Oh, you are still in there. I've been calling your name for the last five minutes," Leon replied, looking both irritated and bored.

"I could turn that into a good thing," Cloud shot back.

Leon looked half ready to kill when suddenly there was a crash from above as Sora burst out onto a balcony and quickly destroying the small herd of shadows he'd chased there.

Cloud winced as he watched their slaughter, not noticing one that got away and leapt down beside him, peering up with large yellow eyes for a moment. Then, after cocking its head, it disappeared into the cool air of the alleyway, unnoticed.

"Hi Leon! Hi Cloud!" Sora yelled down to the pair as he waved his keyblade triumphantly.

"Sora..." Leon began, but stopped when Sora gave a toothy grin and leapt down to where they stood.

"Did you see that? All by myself, too!" Sora said. He slung the keyblade back to sit over his shoulder.

"Nice," Leon replied quickly as he glanced over at Cloud. Cloud was looking down at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing ever. Clearly he didn't want to be a part of the conversation.

Thankfully Sora bounced off quickly, perhaps thinking he was still hiding his true relationship with Leon somehow. Neither man said a word until they were inside the hidden cave.

* * *

"That looks ridiculous," Leon said from the across the cavern. He was sitting on one of the crates watching Cloud twirl his buster sword as if it were weightless.

"Jealous you can't do it?" Cloud slung the weapon onto his back and walked over to Leon.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were compensating." Leon glared up at the blond for a moment before focusing back on the stones at his feet.

"Sure, like a gunblade is less of a phallic symbol. Maybe we both have sex on the brain." Cloud stopped with his feet just inside Leon's line of sight.

"You're the one who moves too fast."

Cloud smirked before moving to the wall. He leaned back, crossed his arms, and stared at the ground. "...Whatever."

Leon groaned. They'd sparred both physically and verbally for over an hour. And it felt good. Besides the physical exertion, Leon had learned a few more things about his new companion.

First off, Cloud actually did have a sense of humour once he felt comfortable around someone. Leon had actually ended up laughing for a few seconds as Cloud had told him about a play he and Aerith had been in. It had been disastrous, but in a good way.

Secondly, Cloud had confessed to honestly having no idea why he had a wing or how it had come to be a part of him. He had woken up with it, bruised and bleeding outside the Coliseum with huge gaps in his memory.

And third... He was starting to consider Cloud as a friend. Maybe. Still, Cloud was a heartless first, someone to be watched over should he become as crazy as Cid had mentioned him once being. Leon sighed. He almost regretted that conversation with Cid, but for all of their safety, he needed to know what Cloud was up to at all times, and since Cloud was to be working around possible means of escape...

Their eyes met a moment before their stomachs grumbled in unison. Both of them had been acting a bit silly.

Right?

* * *

"The cafe ladies?" Leon looked over at Cloud as they entered Third District.

"Gave me spiked lemonade to give you," Cloud finished. "You didn't notice the taste?"

"I wasn't paying any attention."

"So..."

Leon opened the door to Aerith and Yuffie's house without knocking. Before either he or Cloud could say another word, Yuffie had practically jumped on Leon. Pulling him inside, she started with a battery of questions about just where he'd been and where Cloud was.

"I'm right here, Yuffie," Cloud said from the doorway.

"Oh!" Yuffie grinned as she let go of Leon's jacket. "Sora stopped by to say goodbye..."

"Goodbye?" Leon asked, not waiting for the rest of Yuffie's statement.

"Yeah. He and Donald and Goofy are out plotting where to search next and he won't be back before he leaves in the morning." Yuffie paused for a moment like she was forgetting something. "There was one more thing. I'm sure I'll think of it!"

"Yuffie," Leon warned.

"Dinner!" Aerith announced from across the room, trying to prevent a fight.

"That's it!" Yuffie announced halfway to the table.

"Dinner?" Cloud asked, setting his weapon near the door.

"No, silly. There's going to be a tournament at the Coliseum, um, soon. Sora wants us all to go." Yuffie grinned.

"What did that have to do with dinner?" Leon asked as he sat down at the table.

"Because we're going to spar with Cloud after dinner!" The ninja grinned again as she helped Aerith carry a couple of dishes from the top of their small stove.

Leon sighed, wondering what combination of noodles, vegetables, and baked beans they were probably going to be stuck with tonight. He had considered offering to cook, since he did have some experience after all. But his instincts had kicked in just before he'd opened his mouth. If he'd mentioned he could cook, he would have become the cook from then on. And Yuffie would have probably bought him some ridiculous apron like the 'Kiss the Cook' one Aerith was currently wearing.

Dinner itself was as awkward as ever. For the most part, everyone was content to let Aerith talk about her day and occasionally smile and nod until well after they were done eating.

With dishes piled high in the sink, Aerith grinned and announced that it was now time for the twin attack of Yuffie Kisaragi and Aerith Gainsborough.

Cloud kept from commenting on the inaccuracy of Aerith's last name. He still didn't know why he remembered the most trivial of information yet had forgotten major events.

"Aerith?" Cloud asked once they were out in the open area. Aerith stopped, staff in hand as she brushed her hair back. She smiled, green eyes sparkling in the odd light of the courtyard.

Green eyes. Green eyes? There had been something about Riku's eyes too. Was that why he'd so eagerly claimed Riku as his own?

"What is it?" She carefully positioned herself, guarding. Maybe it was coming back to her after all, Cloud thought. It was about time.

"What were we doing, anyway?" He pulled his sword, purposely leaving himself wide open for attack. "Cid said we were fighting some evil company, but I don't know if that was it at all."

"We were looking for magic," Aerith replied. "But I don't remember the rest."

Because she'd been dead, Cloud reminded himself. Sure, he and Cid had talked about it a couple times, but since Aerith herself seemed oblivious, it seemed best not to bring it up again.

"We've talked about this," Yuffie broke in from nearby. "We were on a treasure hunt."

"There was something else," Cloud said under his breath as the green-eyed woman attacked.

* * *

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cid flicked cigarette ash on the ground as he walked over to where Bradey was pouring over a pile of papers.

"I'm looking at these!" Bradey said, holding up some of what appeared to be Sora's hand-drawn maps. "They're maps of everything Sora has found. I want to go see it all too."

"You barely fucking managed to fly that damned ship back tonight." Cid took another drag on his cigarette as he watched Bradey's face go through a myriad of emotions.

"But... I did! And I want to fly farther next time - away from this world!" Bradey tried to smile, but Cid's disapproval was too obvious on his face.

"Is the ship you brought back fucking clean, flawless, and fueled?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"It will be." Bradey mock saluted before quickly turning to go. Before she took more than two steps she looked back at Cid. "If I become your best test pilot, can I maybe go off, um, a little bit?"

"You're my only fucking test pilot," Cid replied, exhaling smoke away from the woman.

"Then I have an advantage!" Bradey exclaimed before bounding off.

"Make sure that ship is perfect - Sora paid both you and Spike's wages for the next month when he bought it!" Cid wasn't sure Bradey had heard him though. It didn't matter. He'd check it over later anyway. Before leaving to find himself something to eat, he did glance over at the maps, curious himself about what lay beyond.

* * *

Aerith was doing amazingly well. She'd actually managed to come close to hitting Cloud during that last attack. He'd felt her staff move the air directly beside his wing. And that, after all, was a part of him.

Leon was sitting the entire thing out, leaning against the nearby stone wall and doing his best to not watch Cloud's body as he moved across the open area. Leon even missed Yuffie bounding over. There was something about Cloud's slim hips that was downright hypnotizing.

"Leon? Leon? Squall!" The ninja was up on her tiptoes, waving a hand in front of his face.

"What?" It was sharp, annoyed. He didn't want to take his eyes from Cloud. Not when he's just pulled out an entirely new move, leaping over Aerith's head to land in a semi-crouched position, wing out, about twenty feet away.

"Get your gunblade so we can practice too." Yuffie grinned as she swayed a bit on her feet, every bit the expectant teenager.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm watching Cloud. He's... He's a heartless. I'm watching him so I know how to defeat him." Leon turned his eyes back to where the mock battle had ended and Cloud now had his arm over Aerith's shoulder. The woman was absolutely glowing as she gazed up at Cloud's face.

"Yuck."

Leon looked back to Yuffie, one eyebrow raising in a question. "Yuck?"

"Those two," Yuffie said. "They're too cuddly. I need to get them apart."

Without another word, she had Conformer in hand and was tearing towards the pair.

Leon just watched, confused. Now Yuffie wanted Cloud? Had the other night been a complete fluke? Cloud had admitted to not being the most stable person out there.

He was just a heartless... Probably just messing with them all. And doing a good job.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud saw Leon ascending the stairs to his house. And then he narrowly missed getting Conformer upside his head.

* * *

Cloud woke up from a particularly erotic dream, blinking his eyes in the dark as he tried to figure out what woke him. Then he heard voices somewhere in the room talking about a light switch.

Suppressing a groan, Cloud informed Sora and company just where the elusive object was to be found before quickly shielding his eyes from the impending brightness.

"Thanks, Cloud!" Sora called as he started towards the back of the shop and his ship. Before he could follow his traveling partners through the doorway though, he stopped. "What are you doing here?"

"Sleeping," Cloud replied, blinking a few times until the light wasn't as painful. He sat up to look at Sora.

"I thought, well... I thought you and Leon were..." Sora trailed off again. At first Cloud had thought it was nervousness, but one glance told him that Sora was instead entranced by his wing.

"No."

Sora set down the bag he was holding and walked across the room to look straight into Cloud's eyes. "I think you should go for it. It's worth it." Sora winked before turning to go.

Cloud mumbled under his breath, happy Sora didn't say another word as he picked up his bag and walked towards the back of the shop.

Closing his eyes, Cloud lay back down to face a sudden image from his dream flashing in his mind. Riku.

He and Riku had ended up with their bodies entwined after a particularly engaging training session. By the time he'd left the first dark bruise on Riku's neck, Riku was pleading for more.

Despite his original intentions, he'd taken Riku back to his room before divesting the youth of his clothing. There was something about the look in Riku's clear green eyes - both lust and innocence. Riku had known what came next but had never actually done it.

Cloud had tried to go slowly, gently with Riku but halfway through ravishing Riku it all came down to his need to be buried in his body.

Every thrust had wrung delicious strings of praises and moans from the body beneath his. And the instant those green eyes had met his and Riku had demanded that he move both faster and harder...

They'd stopped only to eat and sleep, ignoring their normal routine for three days. The last day had been mainly sleep and kisses though, as both were too tired and sore for much else.

There had been something flickering in the back of his mind the first time he'd let Riku claim him.

Silver hair and green eyes...

But he hadn't remembered. And then it hadn't mattered.

Exhausted, sore, and slightly sticky, they'd fallen asleep together that last night with Riku laying partially on top of him.

With a sigh, Cloud pulled himself from his reverie to realize he was still laying on the floor of Cid's shop and now he was more aroused than he had been.

Of course, the last thing Cloud wanted was Cid walking in on him, but still... It wouldn't take long at this point. He slipped his hands under the blankets to push down his sweatpants.

A moment later the hands he'd started stroking himself with were no longer his hands. They were Riku's mouth, warm and moist. And then Leon's mouth, those ice blue eyes watching intently as Cloud writhed beneath him. But the image that flashed into his mind as Cloud reached orgasm was most unexpected. As his own hot seed spilled over his hands and stomach, it seemed to no longer be a fantasy but instead a memory.

Drenched in sweat, he numbly wiped himself clean on the blankets, lost in his mind again.

That image... That man...

The orgasm he was still shaking from...

Silver hair and green eyes...

But not Riku.

The door slammed and Cloud quickly looked up to see Cid.

"You look like you've seen a fucking ghost." Cid was holding a steaming mug of tea in one hand and was fumbling for his lighter with the other.

"Yeah," Cloud replied as he pulled a blanket over his head. "Yeah..."


	13. Chapter 13

That image... That man...

The orgasm he was still shaking from...

Silver hair and green eyes...

But not Riku.

* * *

"Where is that fucking woman?" Cid stomped through the shop for the seventh time that morning, ranting and raving about the sudden disappearance of his test pilot. Finally, as he passed by Cloud, he stopped and grabbed the still-dazed younger man by the shirt. "You don't think those fucking black things got her?"

"Huh?" Cloud snapped back into reality, trying to figure out what was going on. He was still stuck on that image in his mind but he wasn't sure he wanted to ask Cid about it. There were other things attached to that silver-haired man and until Cloud was sure what they were, he didn't want to mention his recovered memory to anyone.

"Stop being so fucking useless and answer the damn question!"

Cloud closed his eyes. It wasn't his responsibility to watch over Bradey. He barely knew her. "I haven't seen her," he replied slowly.

"And those damned heartless?" Cid at least let go of Cloud and walked a few paces away before glaring back over his shoulder.

"I don't control them. I'm sure Bradey just overslept. She doesn't have you kicking her in side every morning." Cloud finally looked back to the blocks he'd been trying to reorganize. He just didn't seem to have the mind for it today.

"Go fucking find her! I want to get that piece of shit ship you brought in fixed and I need her help," Cid said as he rummaged through a pile of papers on the table where Bradey had been standing the day before. When she'd been looking at the maps of the other worlds...

"Can't I help?"

"You're about as useful as a rock right now. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you, but..." And then it hit Cid and he slammed his fist down on the table. "Fuck!"

"What?" Cloud slowly walked over to see what had happened now.

"I know where that damned woman went," Cid replied. "She was looking at Sora's maps yesterday."

"She stowed away on his ship?"

"Dumb as a rock too."

Cloud didn't protest. He felt like he was only half there. He needed to clear his mind and sorting gutter blocks wasn't exactly the way to do it.

"Cloud?"

"Huh?" He blinked. This just was not a good morning.

"Take the fucking day off. Go." Cid seemed to have calmed down a bit, his fingers were no longer almost crushing the cigarette was clutching.

"Are you sure?" One look at Cid's expression and the answer was obvious. Grabbing his red cloak from a hook near the shops door, Cloud quickly left with nothing but a wave over his shoulder.

Now what? If he went to Aerith and Yuffie's, he'd be stuck for the day. They'd probably even take him shopping again. If he stopped by the cafe, the meddling duo would give him no peace. If he went to Leon's... After Leon stalking off on him last night, that didn't seem like a good idea either.

The alleyway... The hotel... Maybe all he needed was to get away from everyone and just think. Then again, his track record for thinking wasn't currently at it's best.

With a sigh, Cloud pushed open the doors to Second District. He walked past the row of shop to stand on the end of the raised area, looking over the railing at what lay beyond. There was a balcony area not too far away and in a moment of pure abandon, he jumped, arms and wing out, flying...

He rolled when he landed. It wasn't quite as far a distance as he'd thought it was. Brushing himself off, Cloud laughed at himself. Maybe he really was losing it. Who was the owner of those green cat's eyes that were still haunting him? Those beautiful glowing eyes...

Eyes that glowed like his.

As he lay back against the cool stone, he stared up at the dark sky above him. Dark even as it approached midday... He'd been trapped somewhere dark before. The inn?

It was all still a blur, making no sense as minutes ticked by. Except for a few voices from those brave enough to shop nearby, all was quiet, peaceful.

He'd closed his eyes unintentionally. It just seemed to make it easier to look inside himself. And then he felt an odd bit of pressure on his chest.

Glowing eyes were peering back into his when he opened them. Yellow, wide, staring...

A shadow?

* * *

Yuffie was banging on Leon's door with no luck. She had to talk to him. Now! After spending all of breakfast hearing Aerith ramble about Cloud, well, it was too much!

Finally Leon, looking very much sleep-rumpled, opened the door.

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk," Yuffie replied, pushing past Leon to sit down at his kitchen table.

Leon just glared as he shut the door and walked over to get himself something to drink. He'd been awake less than two minutes, and already the day was looking to be abysmal.

"I have a bit of a problem," Yuffie announced, rocking her chair back a bit. "See, I really like someone and..."

"I'm not good with relationships."

"But you've been married! You had to have learned something." Yuffie crossed her arms and stared as Leon awkwardly started a pot of coffee.

"Yeah. Don't get married." He reached up into the cupboard for a mug, and once he'd retrieved it, it was set beside the sputtering coffee maker. Hands free again, Leon assumed his usual stance as he leaned against the counter.

"Squall! Be serious. See, I really like someone but they seem hung up on someone else..." Yuffie bit her lip and looked at the tabletop.

"Are you talking about Cloud and Aerith?" He may not have been overly awake, but after the Yuffie's comments last night, that much was obvious.

"Yeah."

Not just an abysmal day. A long, abysmal day.

* * *

Cloud would have jumped back had that been an option. But since the thing was standing on his chest, all he could do was stare back and wonder if this was it for him.

He'd seen the shadows steal people's hearts before, and this one was just inches from his.

But nothing happened. Another minute passed with the shadow just staring into his eyes.

"Do you want something?" Cloud finally asked, reaching a hand up to see if he could get the thing to move. Sitting up, he looked at the creature again. It just stood there, head tilted as if it were studying him.

"Do I know you?" He almost couldn't get it out. He didn't want to think the possibility of knowing the human who'd been turned into this little bit of darkness.

The shadow looked him over one last time before shaking its head.

"Then what do you want?"

Without warning, the shadow leapt up onto his lap and sat down.

"Are you a spy?" Cloud wanted to push the thing off, but there was something about the way it was looking at him.

Again, it shook its head.

Cloud sighed and carefully patted the thing on the head.

"Lonely?" He couldn't think of any other reason a heartless would seek him out.

It nodded.

Great. Now he was playing buddy to something that could have been amongst the group that had attacked Aerith the other night. Still, it was almost endearing the way it sat there and let him pat its head now and then as they both looked out over Second District.

"Cloud," a voice called from the railing he'd jumped off. Both Cloud and the shadow turned to look at the same time, Cloud pausing with his hand against the side of the shadow's head. The second its eyes saw Leon standing against the stone rail, it jumped away from Cloud and vanished.

Sighing as he stood up, Cloud stretched before jumping down to the open area of the district. Leon walked up to him a moment later, confusion clear on his face.

"Was that a heartless sitting on your lap?"

Cloud shrugged. "It just decided to be friendly."

"Heartless aren't friendly," Leon replied. He was wearing his usual outfit, only without his jacket. "What were you telling it?"

"I wasn't talking to it, just..." Cloud closed his eyes. How was he supposed to explain that all he'd really been doing was thinking about the green eyes of his lost lover while unconsciously petting the shadow like it was a puppy? That just sounded stupid.

Ice blue eyes were glaring at him when he finally looked back at Leon. Neither one said a word.

"Explain it over lunch," Leon finally said as he turned to walk towards the doors to Third District.

"Lunch?"

"Yeah. I'm going to make lunch." Leon kept walking, ignoring Cloud until Cloud caught up with him.

"You cook?"

Leon sighed. "Yes. I cook. I would have starved to death long ago otherwise."

Cloud didn't reply. The last thing he wanted was to start an argument before he'd gotten to eat.

* * *

They hadn't talked much during lunch. Cloud had tried to explain just how he'd ended up with a pet shadow, but the more he said, the more ridiculous it all became. Now Leon was washing the handful of dishes they'd dirtied, his backside to Cloud as he buried his hands in the sink.

Cloud found himself remembering Sora's words. He couldn't begin to think that pursuing Leon would lead to anything besides more of the awkward misery that constituted their past encounters.

Still, as he silently watched Leon move through what seemed to be a routine of cleaning each piece of tableware, he found himself being swayed by the sway of Leon's body, the way the leather clung, and the way his...

"Are you staring at my ass?"

Cloud looked up, wondering how long he'd been idly dreaming this time.

"I was wondering why you don't cook more often," Cloud said quickly, hoping that was cover enough.

"Who said I like doing it?" Leon sat down at the table as he dried his hands on the dishtowel he was holding.

"You seemed to enjoy yourself."

"Whatever."

With a sigh, Cloud pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Then why bother going?" Leon set the dishtowel on the table and leaned back in his chair. He was watching Cloud closely - there seemed to be a secret to determining Cloud's comfort level at any given situation. In public, that odd black wing was always covered. But more and more, especially around Aerith, Yuffie, and himself, Cloud was letting at least the edge of it show.

Leon wondered if Cloud even realized what he was doing, if he'd known he had spent all of lunch with half the dark appendage visible, almost begging to be touched.

Again their eyes met, and instead of his usual defeated sigh, Cloud smiled. If a tiny heartless could work up the courage to befriend him, the least he could do was risk one more kiss.

Leon pushed back his own chair and stood slowly. There was an almost predatory look in Cloud's eyes.

It wasn't the best move, as Leon quickly found himself backed against the counter with Cloud's body inches from his.

"Cloud?" It was meant to be a warning, but it came out as a shaky question as Cloud's body touched his.

Well, it was now or never. Instead of a verbal reply, Cloud leaned in to lightly kiss Leon's lips. As he pulled away, he wondered if he'd done the right thing. He'd probably just ruined their only chance at friendship.

Or not... Leon's face registered shock. But after the conversation he'd had earlier with Yuffie, he'd decided that maybe he could take a chance. Yuffie had worked up the courage to tell him about how she was feeling, so the least he could do was afford Cloud the same.

He smiled a rare smile that Cloud quickly returned before their lips met again. He didn't fight with Cloud for control; instead, as he let Cloud's tongue push his lips apart, he reached up to touch the edge of that entrancing wing. In response, Cloud moaned softly as he ran his tongue over Leon's parted lips before slowly entering his mouth.

The kiss turned into several kisses, each one deeper and more lust-filled as each man's hand quested further about the other's body. Cloud hissed and thrust his hips against Leon as Leon scratched lightly along the base of his wing. Cloud's own hands were both tangled in dark hair as he sucked on Leon's tongue, not letting go until he was positive they were both out of breath.

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked once they'd parted. Leon still had his arms around Cloud and Cloud still had one hand in Leon's hair, the other one carefully resting against the Leon's cheek.

Leon nodded.

"I'm not moving too fast?"

"I need to learn to let go," Leon said quickly.

With a nod, Cloud pushed Leon back against the counter and brought his lips to Leon's neck. His hands were positioned perfectly to tilt Leon's head and brush his hair back. Leon didn't even protest as he began sucking in an effort to leave what would be a very visible mark.

Yes, Leon was trying to let go...

And Cloud had pushed the image of both his green-eyed lovers to the dark corners of his mind, there was nothing he could do while on this world. Besides, he liked Leon. He really liked Leon. He'd been imagining Leon's mouth on his erection seconds before...

Sure, he was going too fast again, but Cloud moved his hands to the mass of belts gathered around Leon's hips, pulling at them as though they'd consider falling away in his hands.

"Cloud!" Leon pushed him away suddenly, meeting bright blue eyes with his own ice blue. Seeing Cloud's shocked expression, Leon shook his head. "Not... No... Um..." Words weren't coming to him and Cloud looked down at the linoleum, sure he'd done something wrong again.

Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

"It's easier if I do it."

Cloud looked up quickly before turning away again and taking a couple steps.

"Cloud?"

All Leon saw was the quick motion of Cloud's hands that unclasped that red cloak, letting it float gently to the kitchen floor as Cloud walked silently towards the bedroom.

Hands paused on his belts as Leon's eyes traced the outline of that dark wing. And then he followed.


	14. Chapter 14

"Cloud?"

All Leon saw was the quick motion of Cloud's hands that unclasped that red cloak, letting it float gently to the kitchen floor as Cloud walked silently towards the bedroom.

Hands paused on his belts as Leon's eyes traced the outline of that dark wing. And then he followed.

* * *

Cloud had Leon pressed against the wall, hands up under Leon's shirt. His tongue explored every contour of Leon's mouth as their bodies pressed together, grinding gently, for now.

They continued to keep their lips together while attempting to shed clothing from one another. Thankfully Leon had loosed his belts already and they fell free under Cloud's hands.

Without hesitation, Cloud pulled at the leather encasing Leon's arousal, taking it in hand as soon as he could.

Leon moaned and pressed into Cloud's hands, letting his head fall back against the wall as Cloud replaced those hands with his mouth.

Cloud used the opportunity to undo his own pants with one hand as he used the other and his mouth to pleasure Leon. He wished he could take in more of Leon's erection, but based on the noises coming from him, he was already doing more than satisfactory.

Sure, he'd willingly drank Leon's seed the other day, but this was different. This time he wanted to chase all the old memories from Leon's head. And he wanted Leon to chase his old memories away too - if that was possible.

He wanted to thoroughly enjoy what he had for as long as he could.

At that moment, Leon pushed him away, eyes wide. Before Cloud could condemn himself to yet again moving too quickly, Leon shed his clothes. He didn't even bother putting on a show as Cloud watched curiously.

"Cloud." Leon looked down once he was naked, panting lightly. Cloud's pants were undone and around his knees, his erection in full view.

A moment later, Leon had Cloud fully on the floor, grinding himself against Cloud as he nipped lightly along the top ridge of that black wing.

That caused an immediate reaction. Cloud arched up against Leon, pawing at Leon's back as he cried out. Leon didn't let up though, instead he covered the wing with slow, wet kisses as Cloud writhed beneath him.

Finally, Cloud managed to push Leon away. Ice blue eyes full of confusion looked down for a moment before Cloud caught his breath to speak.

"Leon... Wouldn't the bed be better?"

By the time Leon was to his knees, Cloud was trying to crawl onto the bed. Shaking his wing out at the same time, he flopped down on his stomach, still slightly shaking from what Leon had been doing. If the uneven floorboards hadn't been digging into his back and the base of his wing, he'd have gladly let Leon continue.

Without Cloud noticing, Leon had climbed onto the bed and started kissing the odd skin where smooth back muscle met dark wing structure. Cloud grabbed at the pillows on the bed as he moaned. He'd wanted... He'd wanted to be the one taking Leon but at that moment, it didn't matter.

Besides, he didn't want to end up rushing Leon, not when they had the entire afternoon, at least.

* * *

Bradey sat hunched behind what must have been some sort of emergency supplies crate. So far Sora and his companions hadn't moved from their seats, except when something hit the ship hard enough to partially dislodge the duck, causing him to let out a string of unintelligible dialogue that would probably have made Cid blush. Bradey only groaned softly though, figuring she'd end up fixing the damage at some point.

Still, they'd warped somewhere fairly quickly and then had been flying through odd ships and space debris for what felt like hours. Hopefully a world worth stopping at was coming up... Preferably, Bradey thought, one with a coffee and souvenir shop. And some place to stretch her legs - she was so cramped into her hiding spot that the collision had barely jolted her. Besides, maybe if she brought something home for Cid, he wouldn't kill her for disappearing. And maybe something for Cloud too... He seemed to have a lot on his mind.

* * *

Somehow, as their bodies tangled together, Cloud had ended up on top of Leon, sucking a purple bruise onto the base of Leon's neck. Leon's hands were randomly grabbing at both the blankets and Cloud's back as he moaned. Their arousals were pressed together between their bodies, the constant pressure staving off some of the need. Still, Cloud wanted more from Leon. And since Leon had yet to protest, perhaps it was time.

He drew his body up, sliding himself slightly so the friction would cause them both pleasure, and looked into Leon's partially closed eyes.

"Leon?" Cloud slowly kissed Leon's slightly parted lips before licking along the bottom one. Leon made a small noise, opening his eyes fully to look into the bright blue just inches away. He didn't say anything, instead he pulled Cloud to him and forced his tongue into Cloud's mouth, kissing him deeper and with more raw lust than had passed between them during the entire day.

It wasn't just a 'yes'. It was something more.

Finally, pulling away, Cloud rolled to the side, his wing back to protect it as he silently coaxed Leon onto his stomach. Then, straddling Leon's buttocks, Cloud leaned down to push away strands of soft brown hair and lightly kiss Leon's neck.

Leon moaned as Cloud shifted more, sliding his arousal down between the toned flesh of Leon's ass. Still, Cloud kept kissing and licking at Leon's back until Leon was near-writhing again, his cries muffled by a pillow but still quite audible. Cloud ached from the treatment he was giving Leon, but still, he wanted to chase Leon's old memories away.

Leon cried Cloud's name as he tongued his way between delicious buttocks, pausing just a moment before circling the opening. Slowly, slowly Cloud pushed his tongue into the tightness that was Leon, listening to every soft plea as it left Leon's mouth.

Oh yes, Leon was going to let go.

Cloud grinned as he stood to retrieve the container of lube that Leon had procured at some point but had left on the makeshift nightstand.

"Roll over."

Ice blue eyes met Cloud's as Cloud edged back onto the bed.

"Cloud..." The hesitation had finally appeared. Cloud had to reassure him, fast. After all, Leon might stay... Leon might stay with him.

"Leon, Squall, please..."

Leon was on his back already, legs accidentally spread and hands gripping the blankets.

"Let go."

And Leon listened. If Cloud had learned anything about his companion, it was that Leon was a good soldier himself, one who obeyed orders. Still, something in his past...

Cloud had his lips around Leon's wet-tipped arousal, taking in what he could again as he pushed Leon's thighs apart to slip a slick finger lower, inside. Just the moans he was wringing from the man beneath his was enough to make Cloud's own erection twitch with anticipation. And then he found Leon's prostate when he slipped a second finger in.

Leon howled as he came, flooding Cloud's mouth with hot seed. Obviously Sora had never touched him like that. He pulled his fingers out as he swallowed, not taking his eyes off of Leon as he positioned himself.

Ice blue eyes met his as he pushed inside, thrusting slowly until he was fully inside.

"Cloud..."

"Hmm?"

Leon just nodded as he lifted his legs up, urging Cloud deeper. Cloud pulled out partway only to thrust in, harder, as Leon squeezed his eyes shut at the sensation. Cloud wondered if it hurt at all, but Leon didn't let out any noise to indicate it.

They fell into a fast rhythm, with Cloud pushing Leon's legs up until he could lean to kiss Leon's mouth. Their tongues twined as their bodies joined and Leon was hard again, his arousal trapped between their bodies as Cloud thrust into him.

Cloud came first, thrusting irrhythmically into Leon as he moaned. He didn't normally cry names - something about that... Leaning back almost immediately but not pulling himself free, his hand met Leon's around Leon's arousal and a few seconds later he had Leon shaking beneath him, spilling himself over both their hands.

Raising his hand to his mouth, he waited until Leon was watching before licking his fingers clean.

* * *

They'd landed more than an hour ago, but Bradey was still hiding. She'd heard something about the residents of the world looking different and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to look the ship over without getting caught.

But she had caught a glimpse of Sora's 'costume'. And she did have an idea. She'd brought along a few scraps of paper and some markers in case she needed to make a map.

Sneaking to the front of the ship, she found a control panel gauge that reflected a bit and got to work with a couple dark markers. With a bit of rope from the emergency crate, she thought she looked rather deceased, hopefully. It was nothing compared to what Sora was decked out in, but it was all she could do.

Outside the ship, the sky was dark, but a few odd lamps lit the area well enough that Bradey could begin to look the ship over. There was one decently large dent near the front and a few smaller dings around the sides, but nothing looked perilous at the moment. Still, Bradey would have bet her day's pay that Cid would be furious about the damage.

Oh well, with Sora and his friends out of sight, there was nothing to do but explore the town that was laid out before her.

* * *

Cloud answered the door wearing only the top blanket from the bed. Still, Aerith, who was standing patiently with a huge pile of sandwiches, didn't look very surprised. Of course, Leon was a loud one.

"Um, I brought you two something to..." Aerith dissolved into giggles as she held out the tray.

He tried to take the tray but realized he needed at least one hand to hold up his blanket.

Aerith laughed more before slipping past him to set the tray on the kitchen table.

"It's about time you two got together," she said, still fighting off laughter.

"What's so funny about it?" He motioned for Aerith to sit down a moment. Leon was asleep anyway and could stay that way a little longer.

"I'm just... you in the blanket!"

Cloud sighed in defeat and sat down on the sofa, wing stretched. He noticed Aerith watching it for a moment. Still, she'd been okay with it the other night, when he'd saved her.

"Should I get dressed?"

Aerith shook her head, the fronts of her hair bouncing a bit as she did.

"I'm just so happy for you! Now maybe I can..." she trailed off, looking down a minute.

"What?"

"Oh, I just haven't dated anyone in years but there's someone I like." Green eyes danced with joy as the woman spoke. "I just don't know how to bring it up to..."

Cloud tilted his head a bit as Aerith trailed off again. Something was keeping her from explaining more.

"Cloud?" A sleepy looking Leon poked his head out of the bedroom. "Oh..."

"I brought sandwiches and was just leaving," Aerith said quickly, standing up and smoothing out her pink dress. "I'll skip training tonight so you two can, um..."

Leon coughed uncomfortably.

"I was just going." With a wink to Cloud, Aerith rushed out of the house.

"Did we wake you?" Cloud asked. He'd been curled against Leon's side with his wing over them both until he heard the knocking at the door.

"I woke up when you got up. You took the warm blanket," Leon replied, walking across the room sit beside Cloud on the sofa.

"There are sandwiches."

"Whatever."

* * *

Bradey was lost in a labyrinth of graveyards and since she didn't have a weapon to fight off the heartless that kept appearing, all she could do was run. She felt like she was going in circles. And then she crashed into a massive mausoleum she hadn't even noticed before. Blank yellow eyes glowed around her as she scrambled for the doorway, hoping to find refuge inside.

A shot rang out in the darkness and the creatures scattered. Seconds later Bradey found herself face to face with one of the world's residents. He was slim and dressed in all black except for a tattered red headband and a golden claw where one hand should be.

Just like Cloud's? Bradey stepped back, falling over the building's steps and landing on her butt.

"You aren't from around here." Large black wings were spread behind the man, casting shadows over the rest of him as he held out a hand to Bradey.

"How do you know?" she shot back, standing up on her own. Even his wings reminded her of Cloud.

"Your decay and bruises are running."

"Oh." Bradey brought a hand up to her face. She was drenched in sweat from running and it had caused her disguise to melt away.

"Come inside, you can clean up there." The man gestured to the mausoleum behind them. "It's safe from those creatures.

Sighing, Bradey followed him, wondering what someone who looked like Cloud was doing on this world. But Cloud had been on a different world from Cid, so... Bradey stopped just inside the doorway to the marble building.

"Wait a second, what's your name?"

"I could ask you the same," the man said, watching Bradey with red eyes.

"Fine. I'm Bradey, a test pilot from Traverse Town. I work for a man named Cid High...Ooomph!" Bradey couldn't finish her sentence as the dark man had shoved her against the wall, holding her with that claw. She was physically okay, but she'd lost some of her wind.

"Cid? He's alive?"

Bradey nodded.

"Are you going back to him when you leave here?"

"Yes."

* * *

They'd crawled back into bed after taking turns in the too-small-for-two shower. Neither one had initiated in depth conversation. Instead they'd talked about Traverse Town as they ate the tuna sandwiches Aerith had brought. And Cloud had noticed the hole in the wall.

"You are going to stay the night?" Leon had asked.

"I want to," Cloud had replied.

Then Leon had smiled a faint smile and they had headed for the shower.

Leon was curled against Cloud's right side.

Cloud normally didn't fall asleep on his back easily, but he was so exhausted that he was asleep seconds after he lay down.

* * *

Cloud woke up much later that night to soft kisses on his neck and a hand reaching between his legs. Before he could speak, Leon was kissing him and touching him all over, like he had earlier. But something felt different and Cloud couldn't pinpoint it.

Cloud spread his legs in the darkness to let Leon between them though, letting Leon prepare him quickly but pleasurably. He was achingly hard by the time Leon thrust into him.

It wasn't like anything from the afternoon though, it was totally different. Something... Cloud was rocking to meet every thrust, his eyes closed and mind swimming with both pleasure and confusion.

Two thoughts came to him at once, and both of them ripped through him moments before his orgasm at Leon's hands. His lover, his lost lover was named Sephiroth. And Leon had woken him up to make love. Not the lust-fueled type romp from the afternoon, but the real thing.

Leon had his head to the pillows when his own climax him, crying out something that Cloud couldn't make out and didn't want to anyway.

As he lay there afterward with Leon snoring softly and his own seed cooling on his stomach, he realized that Leon had finally let go of his past. Whatever had been holding him back, this after-midnight joining was to exorcise it.

Sephiroth... He remembered everything. Or as much everything as he thought he could remember. The one-winged angel who died at his hands. And now he had one wing of his own.

Yes, he had killed Sephiroth, hadn't he? Somehow?

When sleep finally came for him, it was blessed.


	15. Chapter 15

And before Riku could ask any questions, Sephiroth was gone. He stretched slowly and crawled off of the bed to find some clothing.

What kind of challenger could it be?

After all, he'd already smacked around more heartless than he could count - who or what could be stronger besides Sephiroth himself?

He wasn't as sore as he'd expected after the previous day's workout and training session. Of course, he was beginning to think the hours-long bouts of intercourse were more strenuous than any swordplay.

Sephiroth had a habit of pouncing on him mid-shower and taking him long before they made it out of the locker room.

A challenger?

Riku dressed in the black bodysuit he'd been given a few days back after most of his current clothing had been destroyed in various ways.

When Riku made it to the main arena, it was strangely quiet and empty. He stood there, holding his temporary weapon, a silver-colored broadsword, with his mouth open.

"Excuse me, Riku?"

Riku turned to see a young woman sitting on a nearby bleacher. He hadn't seen her before, but then again, he hadn't been looking for spectators. Her flowing robes marked her as one of Hades' bunch. Perhaps she was some sort of priestess or something. Maybe she belonged to his mystery challenger.

"What?"

She held up an odd looking fruit and smiled.

"Would you like a pomegranate?"

"A what? And who are you?" Riku asked as he walked over to the woman.

"It's not the best, but good when you're hungry. And you really should eat before you fight," the woman said, forcing the fruit into Riku's hand.

Sighing Riku sat down on the bleacher and set his sword beside him. The woman had ornate flowers decorating both her outfit and hair. He hadn't noticed them from a distance.

"And my name is Persephone. I'm Hades' wife."

Riku almost spit out his first bite. The woman hadn't looked blind.

"I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner, but I only arrived back from visiting my mother yesterday," Persephone explained. "She's a little demanding with my time, but once her world starting crumbling, she let me come back here."

"Hades' wife?" Riku had finally managed to swallow his mouthful.

"He's a real sweetie after the first couple thousand years of getting used to him," the goddess said with a wave of her hand. "He comes up with some fun ideas!"

Riku just smiled and nodded, hoping either Sephiroth or his mystery challenger would arrive soon to rescue him from the woman's endless chatter. In the time it took him to eat the one pomegranate, he'd heard about how she and Hades had met, what she thought of Sephiroth based on meeting him the previous afternoon, and what sorts of flowers decorated her hair.

The air crackled with electricity as Sephiroth appeared a few feet away from the pair.

"Persephone." He bowed slightly before the goddess, who quickly stood and curtsied in return.

"You made it! I was just telling Riku all about my vacation at mother's place," Persephone said, smiling.

Riku looked at his teacher with a pained expression.

"I figure you'd have had him eating the arena floor by now," Sephiroth replied, eyes flicking back to Persephone.

"He needed a good breakfast," Persephone retorted, turning back to Riku. "You ready?"

"Ready? You mean?"

In a flash, Persephone had dropped her robes to reveal a reddish bodysuit covered in golden armor.

Sephiroth looked to the goddess for an explanation of Riku's questions.

"I didn't get to the part explaining I've studied various martial arts and sword techniques for the last five thousand years," Persephone said, shrugging. "Wait. More like four thousand. I took a millennium off to learn how to knit."

She turned back to Riku. "Maybe I could knit you a sweater before you leave. There are some cold worlds out there!"

"I'm supposed to fight you?" Riku still looked like he'd just been told that all reality was hereby revoked and from now on, Sephiroth would let him be top.

"Well, first you should see if you can actually hit me." With that, Persephone bounded across the arena, flowers trailing behind her from her hair.

"Go ahead," Sephiroth said. "Do your best."

"But..."

"Go. Now." Sephiroth didn't say another word as he turned to take a seat on the bleachers, careful of both his wing and hair as he sat.

Riku scowled as he grabbed his weapon and ran after the goddess. Who was she kidding? She moved slowly. And besides...

He fell back as he dodged a gigantic fireball, barely.

"What was that for?" he yelled as he stood.

"Motivation!" Persephone laughed as she ran over near Riku, pulling a golden sword that matched her armor from thin air.

Riku swung his own weapon and was surprised to find out he had missed. Had she moved as fast as Sephiroth could?

For the next five minutes, Riku chased randomly after the her, only hitting air as she eluded him.

"Stop." A firm hand grabbed Riku's arm. Sephiroth.

"What?" Riku snarled. He did not like being interrupted.

"I need to explain to you why you're missing with every swing."

"I can figure it out for myself," Riku shot back. He had totally lost sight of Persephone now.

"Riku, Persephone has been sitting on the bleachers with me for the last three minutes, threatening to knit me a sweater with a wing hole." Sephiroth let go of Riku's arm and pointed across the arena to where Persephone was waving. "You've been chasing illusions. Shadows. You need to be aware of both your opposition and your environment. Has no one taught you that?"

"They have," Riku replied. Cloud had. Cloud had always managed to get behind him, confuse him, and disorient him. But Persephone's trick was new. Still, he wouldn't fall for it again.

Later, as the day wore on and Riku finally managed to get a couple good hits in on the goddess, Sephiroth stopped watching them battle and instead turned to his own thoughts and concerns. Like whatever Riku was still hiding. And he was still hiding something.

He only half heard Persephone's announcement about Hades holding a tournament in her honor. And he only half remembered telling Riku he could compete.

The thing was, the more he watched Riku, the more he was sure he could see his young student making the same movements. Almost like... Like Cloud had shown Riku each move himself.

* * *

Hours later, Persephone bowed out of the arena after receiving a message from her mother and explaining that if she didn't respond right away, her mother would panic and launch a massive search effort.

With the goddess out of the way, Riku quickly headed to shower. He was a bit bruised and singed, but mainly unharmed. Persephone hadn't held back with her bag of tricks and he was glad of it. He'd lost, but only because he still couldn't figure out how to be fully aware of everything around him. But he'd practice. He'd learn. He'd succeed.

Or else.

Warm water ran over his body as he rinsed the sweat from himself. It felt wonderful. He closed his eyes and leaned back, letting the stream pour over his face and hair. With his eyes still shut, Riku reached for the bar of soap he'd set on the ledge nearby. Before he could even find the stone wall, he had the soap handed to him.

So much for being aware of his environment. He mentally kicked himself at letting Sephiroth sneak up on him. And it was definitely Sephiroth, based on the way already lathered hands were roaming over his body, cleaning as they groped.

Neither one so much as said a word as Sephiroth guided Riku to the stone wall, forcing him against it as Sephiroth stroked his erection.

Riku didn't even open his eyes. He was trying to be aware, even in the haze of arousal, of everything he could.

Still, he was lost as Sephiroth prepared him and pulled him up so his legs wrapped around the god's body, held between that and the wall as he was penetrated.

Riku only let out a low moan once he was sure his mouth was clear of the water. Sephiroth had never tried anything like this. But he definitely knew what he was doing.

Sometimes, when Sephiroth looked at him, he wondered who Sephiroth was truly seeing.

Still, none of that mattered as Sephiroth pace quickened and each thrust hit perfectly inside Riku so that in moments he was crying out in orgasm. Sephiroth finished soon after, gently guiding them both to the floor afterward.

"Riku, I have a question for you," Sephiroth whispered into the teen's ear a few minutes later. He'd kept Riku close to him. Hopefully his plan would work.

"Hmmm?" Riku reached up a hand to rub water away from his eyes and opened them to look up at Sephiroth.

"In your travels, have you ever met another swordsman? The one I'm looking for is a smaller man with blond hair who probably is still using something called a Buster sword."

Riku shook his head. He couldn't tell. Not yet. He wasn't good enough yet. No...

Fingers would up into Riku's wet hair, pulling his head to the god's chest. From the corner of his eye, Riku could see that bizarre black wing spread wide and barely grazing the tiled floor.

"If you ever do, you'll come back and tell me, won't you?" Sephiroth asked, his smile making him look less than sane. "While you are very, very special to me, I've come to believe that perhaps he is the only counterpart I'll truly have."

Riku nodded, not wanting to move from his position on the god's lap.

* * *

He cursed himself as he walked. The more he thought about what Sephiroth had said, the more he found himself thinking about Sora.

His counterpart. His other half. His... light.

He hadn't thought much about leaving Sephiroth. That may have had something to do with not even being close to the level he wanted to be at before moving on.

Sephiroth turned back to look at Riku. They were walking to their shared room and again Riku was lagging behind with a far away look on his face.

"Riku?"

"What now?" It came out harsher than he'd intended, but he suddenly had quite a bit on his mind.

"What thoughts are you lost in now?" Sephiroth cupped Riku's chin with one black-gloved hand, tilting his head up so their eyes met.

"Just thinking... when I leave here, to find my counterpart... And about you and Cloud too..." Riku was instantly cut off as that black-gloved hand snapped down to clutch painfully tight around his neck.

Sephiroth snarled, eyes bright and glowing in the dim hallway.

"I never told you his name."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for Trysten.

Sephiroth... He remembered everything. Or as much everything as he thought he could remember. The one-winged angel who died at his hands. And now he had one wing of his own.

Yes, he had killed Sephiroth, hadn't he? Somehow?

When sleep finally came for him, it was blessed.

* * *

Cloud opened his eyes slowly, wondering why he hadn't been kicked in the side yet. After all, it felt like morning. He moved to stretch in the dark and jumped when his hand hit another warm body.

Leon... Cloud blinked a couple times hoping he hadn't woken...

"Cloud?" Too late. The room was pitch black but Cloud was sure he could see Leon's ice blue eyes shining in the odd light emanating from his own.

"Is it morning?"

"..."

Cloud sighed and looked away. That wasn't exactly the best line after the previous evening. The previous wonderful evening, which he hoped would carry through to the upcoming evening...

"You need to go to work?"

Cloud was surprised. He'd figured Leon would have shut down after his question and not bothered talking to him for a week or so.

"Yeah." Cloud looked back over at Leon and smiled, hoping he had good enough aim in the dark to meet Leon's lips with his own. Leon surprised Cloud again by kissing back and untangling an arm from the blankets to reach out to awkwardly paw at Cloud's back.

"You need a Cafe candle," Cloud said once they paused for breath.

"..."

Cloud smiled as he tried to untangle himself from the blankets. He didn't even think he'd fallen asleep on the side of the bed he was now on. And he was covered in...

Luckily Leon couldn't see the expression that formed on Cloud's face as Cloud recalled the odd late night encounter they'd shared.

He stumbled over what felt suspiciously like a pile of belts on his way to the light switch.

"Close your eyes," Cloud said as he flicked the switch. He closed his own eyes for a moment as well, though he knew his own Mako blue wonders didn't have the same poor reaction to sudden brightness that Leon's would. It was just something he seemed to do naturally.

When he did open his eyes, he looked over at Leon, who was rubbing at his eyes while trying to untangle his legs from the blankets.

"You getting up?"

"May as well," Leon replied, not giving Cloud another look as he stretched and stood, walking past on his way to the bathroom as Cloud quickly dressed.

Cloud pulled his shirt on and looked around for his cloak before remembering that it had gotten hung on one of the kitchen chairs sometime during the evening. But he couldn't remember exactly when it had gotten hung there. Either way, it had a few new stains on it from the aftermath of pushing Leon up against the table... And pushing Leon back onto the table...

And taking him, just like that, sprawled on the hard wood...

Cloud swallowed hard at the next thought that poked its way into his mind: Sephiroth once had taken him like that, but it had been on a big oak desk. In Sephiroth's office. And it had been so amazingly...

"Cloud?"

Cloud blinked a couple times before realizing Leon was standing next to him.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted breakfast or if Cid was going to feed you," Leon said, looking as annoyed as he could despite being naked and sleep-tousled.

"Oh," Cloud said quickly. "Um, Cid will probably take care of breakfast."

"You, um, coming back here later?" Leon asked after a long pause that had them alternating between looking at each other, the floor, and the table.

"Sure," Cloud said a moment later, trying to smile as he shook out his cloak.

Another minute passed awkwardly without words before Cloud finally stalked over to Leon, kissed him quickly, and silently exited.

Of course, before he made it two feet a hand was on his arm. But it wasn't Leon.

"Hi, Cloud?"

Cloud turned quickly, trying to figure out who would be bothering him so early.

"Yuffie? What are you doing up? It's..." Actually, he wasn't sure what time it was. Time didn't really seem to move correctly and it was always dark anyway. He'd come to rely on everyone else to let him know what it was time to be doing.

"I know it's early but I couldn't sleep because..." Yuffie stopped when she realized Cloud was glaring at her.

"Can it wait til later?" Cloud asked, trying to pry Yuffie's hand from his arm. "I have a few things on my mind."

Yuffie pouted and let her arms fall to her sides before suddenly smiling.

"Lunch! Meet me at the cafe for lunch," she said, clasping her hands and rocking back on her heels quickly. "I need to talk to you."

Cloud just turned and headed through the door to Second District. If anything, he needed a little time before meeting another human being. And going straight to First District would definitely involve human contact before he was ready.

Then again, punching one of the annoying cafe ladies sounded almost like a good idea. He'd seen them out sparring with each another one afternoon, so he knew they at least thought they could be fighters.

And Leon... What the hell was he going to do about Leon? Cloud kicked a loose rock across the stone alley, not noticing it almost hit a yellow-eyed shadow that had appeared a split second before.

"I don't even know what I want from him," Cloud muttered as he turned the corner out into the main area of Second District. The little shadow scampered in front of him, almost underfoot, as he reached the stairs.

"You again? What now?"

The shadow just cocked its head and chased behind when Cloud kept walking. It seemed aggravated when Cloud reached for the door to First District, circling his feet and tugging lightly at his red cloak.

"That's right, you can't follow, can you?" Cloud had half-listened to Leon's explanation of why First District was safe from the dark creatures, but hadn't understood most of it. It didn't really matter as long as he could enter, anyway.

Shaking the creature free, Cloud waved to it as he pushed through the door.

"I'll visit you after work." Great. Now he was talking to a shadow. He walked the rest of the way to Cid's without even mumbling to himself. No amount of words could express the jumble of emotions running around in his body. Leon. Sephiroth. Even Riku...

Cloud paused with his hand clutching the doorknob to Cid's shop.

Leon. Sephiroth. Riku. And it still seemed like he was missing someone. But before he could figure out what else his mind had misplaced, the door flew open and Cloud fell inward, landing awkwardly at Cid's feet with his wing out.

"What the fuck are you doing down there?" Cid demanded, precariously balancing his mug of tea and a cigarette in one hand while the other stayed unconsciously on the door handle.

"I missed my daily kick in the side," Cloud shot back, trying to scramble to his feet.

"Want breakfast? From what Aerith told me last night, I'm sure you're fucking hungry this morning." Cid winked as he shifted his cigarette back to his mouth before closing the shop door and following Cloud towards the cafe.

* * *

Once Cloud had left, Leon had walked back into the bedroom and sank back onto the bed, not even bothering to cover his nakedness with one of the blankets. Instead he was lost in his mind, trying to reconcile what had happened during the last day and what had happened in his past.

One thing he knew, he wanted Cloud to come back. Not that he felt himself particularly inviting. Even with Sora, it was just...

Ice blue eyes blinked back to alertness as someone knocked on the door. With a slight noise of annoyance, Leon sat up and surveyed the room for where he'd thrown his pants. By the time he'd reached the door, he had them all but buttoned.

"Yuffie?"

She nodded, her arms wrapped around herself as she looked Leon over.

"Do up your pants. I'm not Cloud," she said, not bothering to ask if she could come in.

"What do you want? I was just going to..."

"Can we talk?" Yuffie interrupted. She crossed the room and sat down at the kitchen table, vaguely curious why it was a little to the left of its normal position. "And do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

"Eat what you want," Leon said, trying not to be too annoyed with her. He closed the door, buttoned his pants, and walked over to lean against the counter.

"Thanks!" Yuffie exclaimed as she leapt up and bounced over to the fridge. Once she'd sat back down at the table with an armload of food, she looked back over at Leon.

"Breakfast?"

"I'm growing," Yuffie shot back as she looked over what she'd procured. "But the truth is, I skipped dinner last night."

Leon just watched as Yuffie dug into a container with a spoon he'd missed seeing her grab. After a couple of bites, dark brown eyes stared up at him.

"Actually," Yuffie confessed, "I was out all night. I left Aerith a note so she wouldn't worry, but to tell the truth, well... She's the reason I didn't want to be there."

"What?" That peaked Leon's interest. It was almost impossible to get into a fight with Aerith. And surely nothing could have happened that was bad enough for Yuffie to leave.

Yuffie held up a finger as she finished chewing a large mouthful of food.

"Okay," she announced once she'd swallowed. "And this is great by the way. Did you make it? But Aerith, she's been acting weird around me. Like, I think she knows and is creeped out by it."

"Have you asked her?" Leon ran his fingers idly over a small flaw in the countertop.

"No!" Yuffie exclaimed, banging her spoon loudly against the container she was eating from. "I mean, what if she doesn't know and then I told her? Then she might get more weird. Or what if she does know and it's a big problem and she wants me to move out? Or what if she..."

"Yuffie!" Leon snapped. "Take a deep breath. Eat. And then go talk to Aerith."

She made a face that looked halfway between fear and pure shock.

"I can't do that! I mean, what if she..."

"It's better than living with it bottled up," Leon said, looking back at the tiny flaw in the countertop.

"Take your own advice sometime."

"Whatever." Leon stalked back to his room and shut the door. He didn't even bother turning off the light before lying back down on the bed.

The bed. It smelled different. It smelled like Cloud now. Cloud. Cloud wasn't going to leave him. No...

Leon fell asleep on top of the covers, wearing his only his leather pants and with the ceiling light on, thinking about the fact that Cloud's intentions seemed to be true.

Everyone. Everyone before had betrayed him, left him, used him. Even Sora... Sora was just using him. But he'd gotten so used to it. And he had gotten to the point where he knew he was using Sora too.

He wondered, briefly, in his last coherent moments before sleep, if he could remember how not to be hurt.

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't seen her?" Aerith was following the black-haired waitress around the cafe as Cloud and Cid walked over. "I've looked everywhere for her. And you're the only place open all night! You had to have seen her."

"Aerith, what's wrong?" Cloud asked the second he was close enough to be heard.

"Cloud!" Aerith bounded over to him and grabbed his shirt. "Have you seen Yuffie? She left a note and then vanished into..."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cid asked, finally walking over to the pair after lighting another cigarette to replace the one he'd just put out in an ashtray on the far table. The guest whose candle he'd lit the cigarette off huffed loudly but Cid paid no heed as he gently removed Aerith from Cloud's front.

"Yuffie's missing and..."

"Aerith, I'm having lunch with her. She's fine. I saw her just..." Cloud started, only to be cut off.

"Why didn't you tell me? I've been so worried about her. I mean, I figured she was just going out to hunt shadows, so I waited up, but she didn't come back!" Aerith clutched her hands to her chest. She did look like she'd been up all night.

"Why don't you three sit down and buy some food instead of standing around?" The black-haired waitress had slid up beside them, unnoticed. "This is a cafe, not a soap opera."

"Fuck off, woman. Get me some goddamn tea," Cid replied, mock-glaring back at her.

"Sit the fuck down and I'll get you your goddamn tea, sir," the woman responded without raising her voice, her long skirt swishing around her feet as she turned and walked off, head held high.

* * *

Leon blinked a couple times after waking up before remembering there was most likely a ninja enjoying a growth spurt in his kitchen. That girl could eat.

Sure enough, when he opened his bedroom door, Yuffie was still sitting at the table. Only now it was free of dishes.

"What time is it?" Leon asked, scratching his side absently.

"Almost lunch time. I went to talk to Aerith, but she wasn't there," Yuffie said dejectedly. "I wanted to see if you wanted to come to lunch with me and Cloud though."

"You're having lunch with Cloud?"

"Yeah, I ran into him earlier and... You know, I've been meaning to ask this all morning - Did you move the table?" Yuffie seemed to be measuring distances with her eyes as she asked.

Leon put a hand to his head and didn't say a word.

"Leon? Did I say something wrong?" Yuffie stood up, stretching as she did so.

"I should get dressed," Leon mumbled as he walked back to his room and swung the door shut.

* * *

Bradey still hadn't quite gotten over her host's appearance. But as she ate the small meal he had prepared for her, she realized he wasn't anywhere near as frightening as he'd seemed the day before when he'd slammed her into the wall.

As calmly as she could, while being scared half to death, she had explained what was going on in Traverse Town and that she was planning on heading back as soon as she could. She also had explained, as best she could, what Sora was doing and that it sometimes took him a week or more to search a world for his friends.

Vincent, as the man had introduced himself, just nodded as he listened to her talk. He had said less as the evening wore on, instead just filling in slight details that Bradey was unsure of, such as the name of the woman in the pink dress who sometimes brought Cid dinner.

He had offered no explanation for any of his abnormalities, and Bradey did not ask. She had already constructed her own explanation anyway, based on her experiences with a very similar looking coworker. One who even had a similar claw, though Cloud's was simply decorative.

Vincent's was not, as Bradey had come to realize when she had caught her host tinkering awkwardly with one of the fingers that did not seem to be bending correctly. Fixing it had seemed to require at least two hands and without even inquiring, Bradey had offered her assistance.

"I can fix things," she had said before taking the precision pliers from Vincent's good hand. "Let me try."

"It was damaged when..." And Vincent had stopped before finishing his sentence, instead he had just leaned back to watch Bradey attempt to fix his claw.


	17. Chapter 17

"Ready to eat, Aerith?" Cloud asked, rubbing his hands on his pants for the third time, as if that small motion would rid them of the grime even Cid's industrial soap didn't want to touch.

Aerith looked over at him from where she lay on Cid's shop's sofa and nodded, shuffling the papers she'd been reading before setting them down as she stood.

"Have you read those? They seem to be rather fragmented information on the heartless. Early studies, I'd assume," Aerith explained, gesturing to the papers.

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not much for that sort of thing."

"But you're a..." She paused, not finishing the sentence. "You're directly involved."

"How about lunch?" Not that he was exactly looking forward to listening to the women chatter at him. Not with everything he had on his mind. Then again, it could be a bit of a reprieve as well.

He'd already remembered... Too much. Things were coming back to him that he didn't really want to deal with. Not all at once, at least. Cid had tried to talk to him a bit while they worked together to move a giant stack of rather filthy gaudy blocks to the other side of the shop.

The only thing Cid had said that had even managed to register in his mind involved something about working on his ship.

Yuffie was already sitting at the cafe when Cloud and Aerith arrived. The two women just stared at each other for a moment before both looking to Cloud as if they were seeking some sort of assistance.

"Ya'll need menus?"

Aerith brought a hand to her chest. The black-haired waitress had appeared behind her and startled her without meaning to.

"Menus would be nice," Yuffie said quickly before looking back over at Cloud. "Oh, and Leon'll be here in a moment too."

Cloud let a small smile crack his face. Perhaps this wouldn't be quite as hellish as he'd previously thought.

A moment later he was hiding behind the menu he had been handed, trying to avoid the occasional stare downs between the women.

He knew there was a reason he wasn't really into the opposite sex. They made even less sense than other men.

"Any specials?" a voice asked from behind him a moment before Leon leaned over his shoulder to peer at the menu.

Cloud smirked and leaned his head back so their lips were almost touching. "You... me... after lunch? Cid's supposed to be out running errands all afternoon," he whispered.

Leon only gave him an odd look in return before straightening up and walking around the table to sit in the only empty chair.

* * *

Midway through their meal, Yuffie looked up from her meal to catch Cloud's eyes.

"What are you two going to do when you have to go back?" she asked, looking quickly between Cloud and Leon.

"I... It hasn't come up yet," Cloud replied, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment after finishing his sentence. When he opened them again, Leon was staring at him, but silent.

"I'm sure you two can figure something out," Aerith said quickly. "After all, I remember Sora telling me one night that this Coliseum place isn't very far away at all."

"Can we drop it for now?"

Everyone looked over at Leon. He'd barely said a word since sitting down. "Just, drop it."

"Aw, Squall," Yuffie said with a pout. "I know Cloud. He's not going to leave you like she did."

If looks could kill, Yuffie would have been dead in her chair the second Leon's icy blue eyes glared her way. Without another word, he stood up, pulled a handful of gil out of his pocket, and threw it on the table before stalking off.

"He didn't tell you about that, did he?" Yuffie asked, not quite meeting Cloud's eyes as she turned to him. "Sorry."

Cloud just looked at Yuffie a moment before standing and following after Leon. When Yuffie herself went to stand, Aerith reached an arm out.

"They have enough to discuss without you there," Aerith said. "And besides, I want to talk to you. Alone."

Yuffie swallowed hard and pushed her plate away.

* * *

Cloud caught up with Leon right before he disappeared into Second District.

"Leon." Cloud reached out a hand to catch Leon's shoulder, but it was quickly brushed away when Leon turned.

"Just... I don't know," Leon said, looking down.

"Cid's going to be gone for the afternoon. You're welcome to watch me work," Cloud said, reaching up again to touch Leon. He ran his hand down Leon's cheek, watching as those icy eyes fluttered shut.

"Maybe."

Cloud just nodded, pulling his hand away and turning to go. Whatever had just happened, he knew well enough not to push Leon into anything he wasn't ready for.

* * *

Cloud crumpled up the note Cid had left for him and threw it as far as he could across the shop. He was apparently supposed to re-sort all of the blocks that he'd just moved into piles, by type.

"I get the odd feeling this is busy-work," Cloud muttered as he hung his cloak on a hook and stretched out his already-getting-sore muscles before walking over to the mountainous pile.

Before he had more than a dozen blocks moved, there was a light knock at the frame of the doorway that separated the back and front of the shop.

Cloud poked his head up from behind the mass pile of blocks he was quite tempted to start maiming. It was exactly whom he had expected. Leon.

"Don't just stand there. Come help. I mean, if I spend one more minute alone with these things, I'm either going to start destroying them or building a fort," Cloud yelled as he motioned for Leon to come closer.

"A fort?" Leon asked as he picked a few choice blocks and sat down on them.

"Like a snow fort, but different," Cloud replied, climbing over the accidental barrier he'd constructed to sit beside Leon. "You did build snow forts when you were a kid, didn't you?"

"I don't remember," Leon said, looking at the floor of the shop as though it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

Cloud smiled a moment. "I've been remembering all sorts of things these last couple days. I guess building a snow fort was in there somewhere."

"I remember too much already. I... I guess I've had a few things come back to me as well."

Finally realizing Leon wasn't going to stop staring at the small grease mark on the floor without some outside effort, Cloud stood up and stepped over to stand directly in front of Leon. He cupped Leon's chin with his claws and forced the other man to look at him.

"Anything you'd like to talk about?" Cloud asked, an eyebrow raised at Leon's sudden shocked expression. He was rather glad he'd slipped the claw-tipped glove back on after lunch. Despite Cid's constant yelling, it really did make grabbing the odd-shaped blocks much easier.

The pile of blocks Leon had chose to sit on were arranged in a semi-pyramid, meaning that Cloud could easily slide up onto them, his knees resting on either side of Leon's hips. Now he had Leon pinned.

But all they did, for the moment, was kiss.

When Cloud pulled back enough to look into Leon's eyes, Leon did his best to look away.

"So..."

"Yes?" Cloud asked, sliding back off of the blocks and settling down cross-legged on the floor. That way, perhaps he'd stay in Leon's line of vision.

"Well, what is going to happen when you have to go back? I mean, with me and you and..." Leon paused, obviously struggling to find the words to express himself. Or just struggling to sort out his emotions to begin with.

"It's only a couple hour trip, really. And I only have a few months left on my contract," Cloud said. "If you want to try to..."

Leon looked up as Cloud trailed off. "Do you?"

"I asked you first," Cloud said as he idly traced the edge of the block his arm was resting against.

"... Whatever," Leon replied as he started to stand. Cloud was in front of him in an instant.

"That's your way out of everything, isn't it," Cloud said, grabbing the front of Leon's jacked as he spoke. "How hard is it to just say yes or no?"

Cloud sighed and let go, not waiting for a response as he climbed back over to where he'd been working.

"We've all gotten hurt before. It's not fun. But you can't let the past run the present," he continued from the other side of the block pile.

"You have no idea what I've been through," Leon shot back. He was fighting the urge to just storm out. But he did feel something for Cloud. Something strong enough to keep him there, silent for a moment before climbing to the other side of the blocks.

"I'm willing to listen," Cloud said a moment later as the two men stood face to face in the small space between walls of blocks.

* * *

Vincent was more than willing to let Bradey show him Sora's ship and listen to the technical details about the entire thing as well.

"Are you from the world that created these ships?" he asked after she paused for breath.

Bradey's mouth fell open at the question. That would certainly explain how she knew enough to end up in the complex conversation that had landed her a job with Cid. But she hadn't even thought about it before.

"I don't know. I guess I must be. I don't remember," she stammered before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I feel like I'm missing a chunk of time. Do you remember everything?"

Vincent just nodded.

"How? Are you sure? Everyone else I've talked to seemed to have a bit of time missing," Bradey explained. "I think even Sora was a little disoriented at first, though maybe he only lost a few hours."

"I'd rather not remember," Vincent said after a moment.

"Was it scary then?" Bradey asked as she sat down on the ground beside the ship.

"Scary?"

"When the heartless destroyed your world."

"It wasn't quite like that," Vincent said softly. "Perhaps I will explain on our way back to where everybody else is."

"Why not now?" Bradey asked, pouting.

"Because," Vincent began, pointing at four figures approaching the ship, "I'll assume that your friend Sora is amongst that party."

Bradey looked over her shoulder at the group.

"Shit."

* * *

"Fine," Leon said. "I just don't..."

"Start with what upset you so much at lunch," Cloud interjected before Leon could avoid the topic again. He'd quickly thrown a couple of the more resilient blocks out of the small space to make enough room for at least one of them to sit down.

"I was married once. It didn't work out," Leon said. He still wouldn't meet Cloud's eyes and Cloud had grown weary of trying to dance around to catch Leon's gaze. "We were together for only three years. And... It was really good in the beginning but we both seemed to want to experience... more."

"Okay," Cloud said, nodding. He was doing his best not to click his claws together, but had failed twice already.

"And I had these..." Leon paused while he hunted for the words. "I had these feelings for one of my friends. Before long I was spending more time with him than with Rinoa, my wife."

"Were you..." Cloud found himself quickly hushed by a dark glove in his face.

"I'm going to talk. Stop interrupting," Leon said, pacing a bit. "It wasn't anything sexual at first. I was scared, mainly. I never thought I'd want to... After Rinoa gave up on me and left, he and I spent a weekend together."

Cloud just watched as Leon brought his hand to his head, not saying anything for more than a minute. Whatever he was going to say next, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"And afterwards, I was in heaven. I didn't want anything else in my life besides waking up every morning next to him," Leon said, his voice starting to crack just a bit.

"Leon?" Cloud couldn't help the comforting hand he reached out to Leon.

"And he looked me in the face after breakfast and said he felt nothing. Nothing at all."

Leon just shook his head and paced the other way.

"I just left. I wanted nothing to do with anyone. A couple years passed and then something happened. I'm not sure if it was the heartless or something else, but I ended up here," Leon finished. He turned after a moment and looked at Cloud.

Cloud fought for something to say, but nothing he could think of sounded either comforting or not stupid. So he gave up and walked over to Leon, kissing him quickly on the lips before smiling. It's not like he didn't have a handful of ideas.

"Want to give me a hand moving these blocks?"

"What?"

"I have to sort them and re-stack them all. It'll go quicker if you help," Cloud said, pointing as he explained.

"But I just..." Leon began.

"I know," Cloud cut in. "And I don't have anything to say that doesn't sound stupid. So I thought it might work if you helped me clear enough space of the floor to throw you down and have my way with you."

"Sorry I asked," Leon said before picking up a red-colored block. "So where does this go?"

"Over there," Cloud said, pointing towards a pile of similarly shaped red blocks.

"Were you serious about that?" Leon asked when he returned from the red block pile.

"About what?"

"About clearing the floor."

"I thought it might be a useful way to express what would sound stupid in words," Cloud explained, feeling both stupid and ridiculous as he picked up a small mountain of triangular blocks and slowly edged towards a similar stack.

Leon managed a slight smirk as he grabbed another red block.

* * *

They worked in near silence for more than an hour, clearing the entire floor almost effortlessly. Still, neither really looked at the other when they'd finished. Each was overheated and sweaty, and in near unison they both flopped down on the ground to enjoy the cool of the concrete floor.

"Want a drink? Hopefully Cid'll have something non-toxic around," Cloud asked as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Sure," Leon replied, closing his eyes. Suddenly, he had a thought that shot through his body and caused him to sit almost bolt upright.

"Cloud?" he yelled, his voice echoing through the shop.

"Hhmm?" Cloud replied, coming up behind him with two glasses of icy lemonade. "And don't worry, it's non-tainted."

"Where's your ship?" Leon asked coolly as he stood. And then he got a decent look at Cloud, who was standing there rather innocently holding a glass of lemonade in each hand. He'd discarded his shirt sometime while he was gone, and sweat traced lines down his chest.

"It's parked outside, with one of Sora's old ones and a couple of others that are only good for parts," Cloud replied, offering one of the glasses to Leon.

"Oh," Leon said as he took one of the already-condensing glasses. "Right."

Cloud smiled when he noticed Leon still watching him.

"There's plenty of floor space. And you're wearing too much clothing."

"You want to..." Leon set his lemonade down, nervously.

"Show you how I feel," Cloud said softly as he walked over to Leon and hooked his thumbs inside the heavy jacket, lifting to push it off. He knew quite well he may just be ruining everything, but he'd come to the conclusion, somewhere between the square blue blocks and the triangular green blocks, that if he didn't take the chance, neither of them would.

And if he messed up, he had another week or so to fix it. And if he didn't... well, he only had a few months left on his contract. And...

Cloud paused as soon as he slid Leon's jacket off. Did he really feel that strongly? He knocked that thought back to the place that was currently containing the memories of his past lovers, deeming it something to deal with later. He had more important things to think about. Such as Leon's belts.

He kissed Leon and captured Leon's lower lips between his, sucking lightly before letting go and pushing his tongue between Leon's teeth. Leon's mouth was still a little cool from the lemonade, which was an interesting change. He pulled their bodies together, his hands sneaking up the back of Leon's shirt as they kissed, pulling the fabric up while their tongues met.

Breathless, Leon pulled away enough that Cloud could pull his shirt free and throw it in the general direction of one of the workbenches.

"Here?"

"Yeah."

Cloud was trying to pull at both of their collection of belts at the same time when Leon put a hand over his.

"What about Cid?"

"He's supposed to be gone for the day. And if not, he gets a free show," Cloud said, grinning wickedly.

Leon glared a moment before removing his hand.

"Okay."

Cloud's only response was to push aside some of Leon's dark hair and nip at his neck, trailing a line of kisses and small bites upward. After that, Cloud lost himself in the delicious soft moans coming from Leon's mouth as he toyed with Leon's earlobe and the small piercing there, alternately licking and nipping.

"Is this all you want me for?"

Leon's question cut through the heavy air of the shop. Cloud froze where he was and lifted his head to meet Leon's eyes.

Right answer. Right answer... Surely there was one.

Cloud said the first thing that came to mind. The truth.

"No. I don't know just what I want yet, but I want..."

And then he decided it'd be safest just to shut up as Leon pulled him down to the floor.

Though the concrete bit into Cloud's wing, Cloud was more than happy to let Leon lay on top of him as their lips met again. A couple of kisses later, Leon slid his body down a bit, sure to let Cloud know just how aroused he was.

Cloud just let out a slightly strangled moan as Leon lapped at his nipples, sure to keep skilled fingers on whichever one wasn't between his teeth.

Slowly, Leon worked his way down Cloud's body, kissing over the muscles of Cloud's stomach and lower as he undid Cloud's pants.

"Leon," Cloud gasped as he reached a hand down to stop Leon, whose lips were just touching the head of Cloud's arousal.

"What? I thought you..." But Leon was cut off with a kiss as Cloud guided them both upright to undress.

"Some time when there's less concrete," Cloud said. "And when we're not on a time frame."

His hands danced over Leon's now nude form, tracing lines down Leon's back and over his buttocks. Their erections met and they both bit back a moan, instead kissing and pulling one another back down to the floor.

Leon just sort of winced when Cloud reached over to snag something from his discarded pants.

"Don't tell me you...," he began, only to find himself looking into glittering blue eyes.

"I stopped on the way back, at the little shop owned by those duck kids. Weird lot, especially the one who winked as he rang this up," Cloud said as he contemplated the least awkward position for them while toying a bit with the little container of lube he held.

* * *

Sora was doing the best he could to sound stern and upset as he lectured Bradey. He wasn't doing a very good job, if the snickers coming from the front of the ship were any indication. Bradey just sat in silence on the floor beside the supply crate and listened. It's not like she had any other options.

At first, Sora had been quite a bit more upset, mainly because he didn't want anyone getting harmed by the heartless. But after being introduced to Vincent, his anger subsided a bit. After all, it may not have been one of his friends, but it was someone worth taking back to Traverse Town.

For the time being, Vincent was sitting on top of the crate, his wings folded about him almost like a cape. He kept idly flexing his claw fingers, most likely relieved to have them all working again.

A mechanic is always a good thing to have along, especially when the unexpected happens. Of course, by now, the adventurers should have been expecting just about anything.

But a whale in space?

* * *

Cloud pulled his slick fingers from Leon's body despite Leon's protests. Leon was on his arms and knees, head resting down on his crossed hands. Leon could feel Cloud positioning himself and pushed back a bit. Enough to let Cloud know he was more than ready.

Cloud closed his eyes as he slowly thrust forward, pausing when Leon hissed and then continuing from fear that holding back, at all, would be just as likely as not to cause this to be a rather quick encounter.

He fell into a quick rhythm, losing himself in the motion and the warmth of Leon's body beneath him. It felt downright wonderful and the moment Leon asked Cloud to touch him, and Cloud knew he was making the right decision.

As much as Leon brought old memories back, he chased them away too.

Not more than a few minutes later, Leon found his release and cried out, the feel and motion of his body sending Cloud above him into the throes of orgasm as well.

They both ended up laying there, on the cool concrete, for longer than they should have. Cloud was only semi-conscious with Leon laying half on top of him when they both heard Aerith's voice, loudly asking Cid where he'd been and to take a look at the papers she'd been reading.

Their eyes met before both began a mad scramble for their clothing. Thankfully both managed to have a workable amount of clothing on by the time Cid walked into the back of the shop, Aerith in tow.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" Cid asked, looking at the still-shirtless pair, both of whom were leaning against the nearby workbench.

"Just having a glass of lemonade," Cloud replied, holding his up. "Leon stopped by to give me a hand and we finished just a couple minutes ago."

Aerith burst out laughing and Leon quickly looked from her to Cloud. But Cloud wasn't about to explain that for the entire time they'd been there, Aerith was most likely out in the front of the shop, reading over whatever she'd left on the sofa before lunch.

* * *

"Aren't they lucky I'm here?" Bradey asked, brandishing a screwdriver as she spoke. While Sora and his companions had wandered off to explore the rather odd interior of their captor, she and Vincent had decided to stay with, and fix, the ship. It hadn't gotten too damaged, but anything that didn't get repaired now would just be harder to fix later.

"Perhaps if you and I weren't along, they wouldn't have run into this monstrosity," Vincent replied. "It could very well be our fault."

Bradey frowned before wiping a bit of engine grease on her shirt.

"Do you fix these ships often?" a voice asked suddenly. Bradey turned to see an older man standing a few feet away, looking both at the ship and her. "I haven't been able to fix mine, and it's my son and I's only way out of this whale."

"Let me at it!" Bradey said excitedly. "I could use the challenge."

"Shouldn't we be more worried about Sora?" Vincent asked cautiously.

"I think he'll be busy for awhile," the old man replied. "Someone he knows... named Riku, I believe, and my son are both somewhere in this beast with him."

And so, with a slightly reluctant Vincent to assist her, Brady followed the old man to his ship.

* * *

Less than a week later, two ships docked in Traverse Town. While Donald and Goofy took Gepetto and Pinocchio to get a nice hot meal at the cafe, Sora went off to tell Leon and Cloud the latest details he'd heard about the upcoming tournament.

And Bradey, rather nervously, crept through Cid's shop, looking for its owner. It was early evening, she guessed, since no one was around.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Bradey jumped at least a foot, wheeling around quickly to find herself getting a death glare from Cid.

"Um, well, I was out. I mean... Well, it was good because Sora's ship was swallowed by a whale and I had to fix it and another ship and..." She couldn't find any more words to explain what had happened.

"Don't fucking do it again," Cid replied, fumbling for a cigarette. "Just... don't."

And then he turned and walked off, shaking his head but silent.

Bradey was wide-eyed with surprise. She figured she'd be fired, at the very least. Something must have happened in the past that had saved her just now.

"Wait!" she cried. "I brought you a souvenir. Kinda."


	18. Chapter 18

"I don't want it," Cid replied as he headed towards the stairs to his living quarters.

"No, wait! You have to come see!" Bradey exclaimed, lunging for Cid and grabbing his arm, trying to pull him back into the shop.

"I don't want to fuckin' deal with you right now," Cid said, roughly pulling his arm free. "I'm going to grab a few fucking gil and go get myself some decent goddamn tea."

Bradey sighed and slumped down against the wall. So much for that plan. As she watched Cid vanish up the stairs, she slowly dragged herself back through the shop and out to the dock.

Not only was the ship deserted, but also the back door of the shop was open, leading right into town.

"Well," Bradey said softly to herself, "If Cloud can wander around with one wing, maybe Vincent will be okay with two."

She and Sora had both been a little surprised when Vincent didn't revert to a more human form when they left Halloween Town, but Donald had simply pointed out Cloud's predicament. Of course, it hadn't been in such nice terms. For once, Bradey was definitely glad she could rarely understand the foul-mouthed fowl. Working for Cid was quite bad enough.

Still, she figured she really should try to figure out where Vincent had vanished to. Surely he wouldn't have left on his own. Not as badly as he seemed to want to see Cid. Bradey slipped out the back door of the shop, pulling it quietly closed as she went.

* * *

After five minutes of pounding on the door to Leon's house, Sora was ready to see if his keyblade would work on the lock.

"Looking for Leon?"

Sora jumped. He'd been so centered on telling Leon everything he'd found out that he hadn't noticed Aerith sneaking up on him.

"Aerith, you scared me," Sora said with a pout. He felt a little embarrassed, mainly because if Aerith had been a heartless, he would have been a goner.

"Well you're supposed to keep your guard up," Aerith said, smiling kindly. "Cloud's been working with me on that."

Cloud. Sora had almost forgotten that he was still in Traverse Town. He hadn't stopped by the Coliseum on the return trip for once. Usually he stopped and got in a decent spar with Cloud, and a decent conversation afterward.

And while Sora wasn't sure just what had happened with Riku back in the whale, what he did know was that he really still cared for Riku.

"Where's Leon then? And Cloud? I want to talk to them both," Sora said. He wanted to talk to them, get everything out in the open.

"They're probably down in the secret waterway," Aerith said. "But I wouldn't..."

But it was too late, Sora was already running off, hollering thanks over his shoulder.

With a sigh, Aerith walked back to her house.

"Yuffie, ready to go?" she called inside.

"In a minute!" Yuffie's voice echoed from the hallway.

Aerith just shook her head before remembering she had a couple of potions to give to the adventurers. Knowing Donald and Goofy, they were already at the cafe. She was halfway inside one of the kitchen cupboards when Yuffie bounded into the kitchen.

"I'm ready to eat," Yuffie announced, stretching a bit and grinning.

"Sora's back," Aerith said as she emerged holding a transparent grocery bag with two potions inside. "He just came by here looking for Leon."

"Those for him?" Yuffie asked, pointing at the bag.

Aerith nodded as she herded Yuffie out the door and locked it behind her.

* * *

"You need to eat!" the black-haired woman said as she herded Vincent down the stairs and towards the cafe. Vincent sighed and let himself be pulled along. She'd smacked him with a spatula once to get him moving. And while Vincent really wanted to see Cid, the woman had promised that Cid would be where ever they were going.

"I'm fine," Vincent replied, hoping not to be hit again. He had yet to test the boundaries of his partial-transformation, and in all honestly, he didn't want to.

The woman stopped and stared at him.

"No. You look hungry."

* * *

Sora pushed the door open into Second District, and he met a large group of shadows as he did so. He destroyed as many as he could, quickly, letting only two escape and disappear back into the darkness.

He walked out into the open area of the district, surveying. Nothing so much as bothered him as he walked through the door to the alleyway. But before he could put the keyblade away, he heard a cry from the direction of the waterway.

"Leon?" Sora said quietly, suddenly realizing shadows were gathering around him on the hotel balconies and in the water beside him.

Another cry echoed through the alleyway, making Sora turn his head away from battle even as a pack of shadows descended on him.

"Ow!"

In a quick motion, he was knocked backwards by some sort of oversized heartless. And it had very much hurt. He didn't even have time to dust himself off before the thing attacked again.

* * *

Cid dropped the cigarette he was trying to light the moment he turned the corner and walked into the cafe.

"Fuck," was he managed to say as he blinked a couple times.

"Cid?" Vincent turned from where both cafe ladies were over-affectionately hanging off of him, much to the unamusement of the cafe's other patrons, many of whom were still waiting for their meals.

Both ladies frowned at each other and then at Cid. Playtime was now over and they had to give up their new toy much too quickly for either's liking.

"It is you." Cid hadn't moved from where he'd stopped a moment ago. "How?"

Vincent managed a small smile as he rose from his chair. He gently shook the women from him and walked over to where Cid was standing.

"Your mechanic brought me with her," Vincent said before holding out his hand in greeting.

"Bradey?" It all clicked in his mind. His least-crazy employee really did have something to show him. And he'd thrown her aside in annoyance. "Fuck."

Cid looked down at the hand Vincent offered but shook his head. Instead he pulled the demi-demon into a tight embrace, ignoring the wings and other physical changes as he buried his face in Vincent's hair.

The entire cafe was staring at them when Vincent finally pulled away.

"Why did you do that?" Vincent asked, his red eyes downcast.

"Because I haven't fucking seen you in years," Cid answered. "I'd even forgotten..."

"Years?" Vincent cut in. "Cid, it's only been a few months."

"What?"

"Am I the only one who remembers?"

* * *

It had been a couple of days since either of them had been in the mood for anything besides falling into bed exhausted. Cloud had been working constantly on his ship, which had needed more repairs than originally thought, and Leon had been working with both Aerith and Yuffie on their fighting skills in Cloud's absence.

But both of them had decided to take a day for themselves. Cloud had walked as far as the waterway entrance with his friendly shadow perched on his shoulder. He'd tried to explain that it needed to not follow, but it just cocked its head curiously, perhaps not understanding at all. Still, it had stayed in the alleyway and watched Cloud wade into the water, its vacant yellow eyes watching until Cloud vanished into darkness.

Leon had already been there, waiting. He'd assumed a fighting stance almost immediately, and the two of them had sparred for hours.

Now the two of them were naked and tangled in a pile of blankets, Cloud thrusting into Leon and doing his best to make them both cry out in sheer pleasure.

* * *

"You're kidding, right?" Yuffie asked as she walked along beside Aerith as they passed through the open area of Third District.

"Well, actually, it's not a bad show," Aerith said, trying to ward off a fit of giggles.

Yuffie stopped dead in her tracks. "No!"

"What?"

"You've so not seen them!" Yuffie exclaimed before bursting out laughing.

"It was purely on accident," Aerith said, trying to hold her head high and not join in Yuffie's contagious laughter. Really, she'd just heard a bizarre noise and before she could stop to think, she'd gotten an eyeful.

"You're just glad to see Cloud happy, aren't you?"

They walked through the doors into First District still chattering about what had happened in the past, and how grouchy Cloud could be. And then Aerith stopped short as the cafe came into view.

"Aerith?" Yuffie inquired, only able to stand by and watch as the green-eyed woman grabbed her head and then collapsed. "Aerith!"

* * *

It took Sora nearly fifteen minutes to defeat the monstrous heartless creature that had appeared. The entire time he was hoping it wasn't someone he knew that he was fighting against. What had happened with Riku in the whale had been bad enough.

As soon as it had been destroyed, Sora flopped into the water, floating a moment before he heard another distinct cry echoing from the waterway. In an instant, he was swimming as fast as he could, hoping he would arrive in time to play the hero.

As he scrambled from the water and up onto the rocks, there were no heartless in sight. In fact, the second he took his third step onto the shore, he realized exactly what the cries had been. He couldn't tear his eyes away.

He could only stand and stare from a distance as Leon threw back his head and let out a long, load moan that turned to a breathless cry midway.

Leon was clinging tightly to Cloud as Cloud cried out his own release. Sora looked away a moment, confused as to what he was feeling. It was almost a feeling of elation. He knew he wouldn't be hurting Leon's feelings now. Leon had found someone else.

And, fighting arousal, he wondered if Riku would possibly be anything like what he'd just seen from Cloud.

Sora looked back to see that they were shifting positions a bit. They were still tangled, but, Sora guessed, Cloud's wing had been trapped in the blankets before.

And just then, he realized he was intruding a bit. But before he could leave, a voice called out to him.

"Sora, when did you get back?"

* * *

Riku fell to his knees in exhaustion. They'd been fighting all day and he honestly didn't think he could even get to his feet again. Ever since he'd slipped up and let Sephiroth know that he knew Cloud, things had changed.

He didn't want to say that Sephiroth had become less demanding, that was far from the truth. But he had changed in some way Riku couldn't quite put a finger on.

When Sephiroth had finally let him fall to the floor that day, Riku had just lay there in a fetal position, his hands trying to protect his throat and head. He had been gasping for breath and convinced he was going to die.

But no, Sephiroth had just picked Riku up and carried him off to their bed.

"Cloud was here?" he'd asked, petting the Riku's hair and kissing him gently.

"Yes."

"He'll be back?"

"Yes," Riku had said. "He'll be back."

He'd been too scared to try to escape from Sephiroth's bed that night, and the next day he'd been whisked away by one of the villainous oddballs that were always coming to boast their plans and take him on a field trip.

And he'd seen Sora. And Kairi. Yet he couldn't stay with either.

When he'd returned, Sephiroth seemed different. They spent more time in the practice arena and less time in bed.

Not much less time, Riku corrected himself based on how sore he remembered he was before they started sparring hours ago.

There was a tournament in three days, and he fully intended to fight. He needed every moment of practice he could get.

Even if he couldn't find the strength to get to his feet.

* * *

Vincent pulled Yuffie away from Aerith to let Cid pick up the unconscious woman and carry her into the cafe. A couple of other patrons, including Gepetto and Donald, came over to ask if they could do anything, but no one had any useful ideas until the blonde cafe lady appeared with some smelling salts.

"Aerith?" Yuffie asked as the green-eyed woman started to stir. She was still being cradled in Cid's arms and she seemed confused at first.

"Yuffie? Where am I? Oh..." She pointed over at Vincent as Cid set her down onto a chair. "I'd forgotten until I saw you. I was..."

Aerith looked around to Yuffie, Cid, and the small crowd that had gathered.

"Some of you did know, didn't you? You just didn't tell me that I had died."

"How the fuck do you tell someone that they can't possibly be alive when they're talkin' to you?" Cid asked, finally trying to get himself a much-delayed cigarette.

"Are you okay with it, Aerith?" Vincent asked as he sat down. "I'll assume your very existence has something to do with my partial transformation and perhaps Cloud's, from what I've heard."

"I don't know," Aerith replied as she put her head down on the table across her folded arms. "It's just a bit shocking."

Yuffie sat down next and started stroking Aerith's hair. "What matters is that you're here."

"Um, would ya'll like some menus?" The black-haired waitress had walked up beside Cid, who had yet to sit down.

"That would be best," Vincent replied.

"And some goddamn tea," Cid said before finally taking a seat.

They were all looking over their menus when Bradey came running into the cafe.

"Has anyone seen...," she yelled before stopping short and staring at the nearest table where the object of her hunt was sitting. "Oh."

"Grab a fucking chair and sit," Cid said without turning.

"I..."

"Sit!"

Bradey quickly grabbed a chair and situated herself at the table between Vincent and Yuffie.

"Where'd you go? I was so worried," she said quietly to Vincent as she peered at his menu.

"One of the employees of this establishment brought me here against my will," Vincent explained.

"And you came?"

"I didn't want to put anyone in danger."

"Danger?" Yuffie asked from Bradey's other side.

"If I fight, I may turn further into a monster," Vincent said, eyes downcast.

"You're no fucking monster," Cid said, giving Vincent a friendly thump on the back. He caught the juncture of Vincent's wings, causing the black-haired man to hiss at the odd sensation.

"After all, Cloud has a wing," Yuffie explained, totally missing Cid's wince in response to the noise Vincent made. "But we think it might be because he's a... You aren't a heartless, are you?"

"Yuffie, a heartless wouldn't be having lunch with us," Aerith replied. She finally had a bit of color back in her cheeks, but like many of them had needed to do in the past, she still had much to process and rationalize.

"He's not a heartless," Bradey supplied. "He saved me from them."

Cid raised an eyebrow and looked over at her.

"I can explain, really. See...."

* * *

"And that's what happened," Sora explained. "So I'm... I'm going to find him. And Kairi too."

He'd been talking the entire time Leon and Cloud had spent cleaning up and getting dressed. After averting his eyes from the two men following a glare from Leon, Sora had started explaining everything that had occurred while he was gone. He'd skipped anything involving Vincent though. He wanted that to be a surprise.

"Whatever," Leon replied as he pulled on his jacket. Cloud grinned for a moment at Leon before motioning towards the exit.

"Lunch?" he asked.

Leon nodded. "You coming Sora?"

Amazingly, for once, everything seemed to be understood, and accepted.

The three of them walked in silence through the alleyway together on their way to the cafe.

* * *

"Cloud hasn't mentioned him," Aerith said after a little thought. "But for him to be with Leon, he must not remember."

"Do we even know this Sephiroth guy is around?" Bradey asked. "Sora said there are a ton of worlds that are already gone."

"Let's hope for the best," Vincent said, picking up his glass and taking a drink.

"Hey, everyone!"

Five pairs of eyes were almost instantly looking at Sora, who was running towards the cafe. And then they saw Leon and Cloud a short distance behind, both walking their customary distance apart.

"Cloud..." Vincent set down his glass and stood, graceful despite his wings.

Cloud stopped a couple steps later, just about as Sora reached the group's table. Vincent took a step toward him and for a second their eyes met. A burst of recognition flew across Cloud's face, his eyes widening before he let out a scream and grabbed his head, sinking to the ground.

"Not again!" Yuffie yelled, her chair toppling behind her as she jumped from her seat.

"Some fucking effect you have on people," Cid muttered, grinding out his cigarette so he could help a very-confused Leon drag Cloud into the cafe.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, bending over Cloud alongside everyone else. "Cloud?"

"Must you always cause a scene?" It was the black-haired waitress, her hands on her hips as she waved her spatula around threateningly. Then she saw Cloud. "What happened?"

"Vincent," Cloud muttered. He hadn't lost consciousness like Aerith had, but he was shaking a bit. "Do you know?"

"Know what, Cloud?" Vincent knelt down so close that his black hair poured over his shoulders to rest on Cloud's body.

"If what I just remembered it true. Is he still alive?"

"Who?" Leon asked.

"Fuck," Cid replied.

"We don't know if he is or not," Vincent replied. "But it doesn't matter, if you're happy here."

Cloud opened his eyes, skeptical.

"How did you get here?" he asked, waiting until Vincent moved before getting to his feet.

"Sit the fuck down," Cid replied, pointing to a chair.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?" Leon asked as he tried to remain calm. He'd managed to figure out that this had something to do with the lost lover Cloud had skirted around going into detail about. If that man was alive, would Cloud leave him? And who was the odd man with the... wings?

Yuffie managed a smile and attempted introductions. "Leon, meet Vincent, one of our friends. And Vincent, this is Leon, um, one of our friends!"

Vincent just nodded in Leon's direction as he closely watched Cloud, who was now sitting, dazed.

"Why now?" Cloud asked slowly. "I didn't want to remember. I didn't remember..."

"Cloud!" Bradey surprised everyone by slamming her hand down on the table. "I've been listening to everyone tell me about your messed up life and guess what, it's a non-issue. Deal with it if it comes up. Until then, don't worry about it."

Cloud glared at Bradey a moment before nodding and looking around at everyone, his eyes finally resting on Leon.

"Okay, so since everyone's here, can I tell you about the tournament?" Sora asked after a very long moment of silence and awkward glances. "It's in three days."

"That may be a good idea," Aerith said, looking around at everyone and seeing no one disagreeing, at least.

"You okay?" Cloud whispered to Leon, who was sitting beside him.

"Are you?" Leon replied.

"I asked first."

"Whatever."

"I'll take that as a 'Yes'," Cloud replied softly as he reached to run his fingers through Leon's hair. Normally Leon hated any sort of public displays of affection, but he didn't knock Cloud's fingers away. "I just..."

"I think we all do," Leon said before Cloud could finish.

"So is everybody going to enter?" Sora asked. Both men looked over at him. They'd missed the explanation, but they'd heard him talk about this tournament and others before. And Cloud had fought in a couple already. It was nothing new.

"I will," Aerith declared, much to everyone's amazement.

"Me too," Yuffie said, smiling.

"I need to go back anyway," Cloud said after a moment.

Everyone turned to look at Leon.

"I'm... going with you. So I may as well compete," he said, not looking at anyone but Cloud as he spoke.

"I'm not really a fighter," Bradey announced. "But if Cid will let me, I'd like to go and watch."

Everyone besides Cloud and Leon turned to stare at Cid.

"I could use a good fuckin' laugh too," Cid replied.

"I would like to watch as well," Vincent said.

"Can we go?" It was the blonde cafe lady. No one had noticed both her and the black-haired waitress sneaking up on the table. The cafe had been empty for quite some time, as Sora's friends and the whale refugees had headed back to the hotel to rest. Leon had once entertained the notion that the women teleported, but that was just too ridiculous to be true.

"No!" Everyone answered in near unison, besides Cloud and Leon. They were busy.

* * *

Once everyone had eaten and plans were made to depart for the Coliseum, everyone went their separate ways. Sora headed to the hotel to meet up with his friends and give them the potions from Aerith. Leon had promised Sora to help Gepetto find a house, so he and Cloud were on their way to a vacant building Leon was sure would be salvageable into living quarters. Aerith and Yuffie were running, hand and hand, towards the triplets' shop in order to look at weapons. And Cid and Vincent walked back to Cid's shop to try to find some space for Vincent to stay. Bradey had claimed Cloud's spot on the floor until she could afford the deposit on an apartment, so Cid had volunteered his own space for his friend.

* * *

Three days later, three ships left Traverse Town. One carried the adventurers and their supplies, as they wouldn't be returning to Traverse Town right away. The next was Cloud's small ship, which had just Cloud as the pilot and Leon as the navigator. The last was Cid's ship and carried everyone else, albeit a bit tightly.

No one was sure quite what to expect once they arrived, but surely something interesting was bound to happen.


	19. Chapter 18 AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate chapter with Cloud/Leon/Sora in the middle.

Sora pushed the door open into Second District, meeting a large group of shadows as he did so. He destroyed as many as he could, quickly, letting only two escape and disappear back into the darkness.

And then he ran on, ignoring what was gathering behind him. He wanted to talk to Leon.

As he scrambled from the water and up onto the rocks, he realized he was interrupting a rather private moment.

Cloud heard a couple small rocks shift beneath Sora's feet and looked over, not releasing Leon's arousal from his mouth right away. Instead he met Sora's eyes for a moment before he continued to suck on Leon's erection and listen to his soft moans.

Sora just stared, not even trying to fight his own feelings of arousal as he watched the two men.

Cloud glanced once more at Sora, making sure he was watching as Cloud slicked his fingers from a jar of lube. And then, in a smooth motion, he pushed two fingers into Leon's opening. The act drew a pleasured cry from Leon that echoed off the cavern walls for a moment before fading into a steady stream of pleading and praises as Cloud worked his fingers inside Leon's body and his mouth around Leon's erection.

As Sora watched them, he couldn't help but bring his own hand to stroke at his arousal through the fabric of his pants. But it wasn't like it was really his hand. He could almost feel Clouds mouth on him, sucking on him as if he was Leon. He sank to his knees, transfixed.

Leon was pushing back and up, meeting Cloud's fingers and mouth, crying out each time he was touched perfectly deep inside. With a howl, he found his release, filling Cloud's mouth with his warm seed and still pushing against the fingers buried in him. Sora thought he might explode just from watching, but truly he didn't want to reach his own orgasm so quickly.

"Sora, you like watching?" Cloud was watching the teen as he licked his lips clean of Leon's semen.

"Sora?" Leon sat up, blinking a bit before focusing on Sora's suddenly scared self.

"I..." But really, he couldn't think of anything to say in his own defense. He pouted a moment before bracing for the words of outrage that would surely follow.

But they didn't.

"Have you been here long?" Leon kept shifting his gaze from Cloud to Sora and back again.

Sora couldn't think properly. Cloud had shifted, perhaps not intentionally, and was giving him a wonderful view of Cloud's arousal. So he just nodded dumbly and waited again.

Cloud and Leon seemed to be having a wordless conversation involving glances and nods.

"It's okay with me," Cloud whispered to Leon, their bodies drawn close as Leon brought his hand up to rub the base of Cloud's wing. They kissed then, Cloud lowering himself to grind gently against Leon while their lips met.

Still, Cloud pulled away and looked to Leon, not glancing at Sora, who was still watching in a daze.

Instead of words, Leon just motioned for Sora to come closer. Sora shook his head slowly, he was trying to tell himself that this wasn't happening, that he wasn't being invited into a tryst with two men as blatantly sexy as Cloud and Leon.

One last fling wouldn't kill him, he decided after a moment of watching them kiss again.

Surprisingly, Leon was the one on him once Sora crawled over to the pair. Cloud just sat back and watched as Leon started pulling off Sora's outfit. Leon slowly removed Sora's clothing, tormenting Sora with his tongue as inch after inch of pale skin was revealed. By the time Leon had made his way down to free Sora's arousal, Sora was arched back against the ground and moaning.

As Leon licked around the tip of Sora's erection and gathered the beads of fluid on his tongue, he glanced over at Cloud. Cloud was watching carefully, and, Leon noticed, stroking himself too.

Turning his attention back to Sora, he started swirling his tongue around the tip of Sora's arousal before working his way lower and taking in as much as he could. Sora cried out and tried to thrust up, but was stopped by one of Leon's hands on the his stomach, holding him.

Leon had his eyes closed as he sucked and teased Sora, eagerly drinking down the slow trickle of sweet fluid that leaked from Sora's erection. The noises Sora made were getting him aroused again and just when he was starting to want to either touch himself or just take Sora, he felt a hand sliding over his back and down to his thighs, urging him up into the air.

Sora opened his eyes for a moment when Leon made a rather uncharacteristic noise that vibrated through both their bodies. And then he saw the source of the pleasured howl. Cloud was pushing himself into Leon's body, eyes downcast as he guided himself and not noticing Sora's gaze until he was fully inside.

Then he licked his lips, stared straight into Sora's eyes, pulled out and thrust, starting a fast rhythm that Leon's tongue was quick to match on Sora's erection.

As much as Sora wanted to close his eyes and enjoy the sensations coursing through his body, he was captivated by the sight of Cloud moving against Leon's body. It just made the experience that much more erotic and eclipsed the visual delight from before, when he was watching from a distance.

His own orgasm snuck up on him while he watched. And then he was crying out, thrashing beneath Leon as he was overwhelmed with sheer pleasure. He didn't even remember Leon pulling away, licking his lips and smiling.

Cloud chose that moment to pull back from Leon, rolling Leon onto his back. Their lips and tongues met, and as Sora gazed through blurry eyes, he realized they were sharing his seed between their mouths.

Leon rocked up as Cloud entered him again, and they kept their bodies together, kissing and whispering praises to one another. Sora just watched them, exhausted but still having to occasionally move to avoid a collision with Cloud's wing, which was spread over his body and bobbed lightly with each motion of its owner's body.

With a soft cry, Leon spilled himself between his and Cloud's stomachs, his hands grabbing at Cloud's back and wing as he came. The spasms that coursed through Leon's body quickly coaxed a powerful orgasm from Cloud. Cloud came in a burst of barely-rhythmic thrusts, his own release stealing even his voice from him.

Sora leaned over and kissed Cloud's wing before curiously licking at the sweat that had formed on it.

Cloud separated himself from Leon and smiled at them both, trying to catch his breath before pulling Leon close to him.

* * *

"And that's what happened," Sora explained. "So I'm... I'm going to find him. And Kairi too."

He'd been talking the entire time Leon and Cloud had spent cleaning up and getting dressed. After averting his eyes from the two men following an odd glare from Leon, Sora had started explaining everything that had occurred while he was gone. He'd skipped anything involving Vincent though. He wanted that to be a surprise.

"Whatever," Leon replied as he pulled on his jacket. Cloud grinned for a moment at Leon before motioning towards the exit.

"Lunch?" he asked.

Leon nodded. "You coming Sora?"

Amazingly, for once, everything seemed to be understood, and accepted.

The three of them walked in silence through the alleyway together on their way to the cafe.


	20. Chapter 19 PWP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bonus Cid/Vincent chapter.

"I can't fucking believe I'd forgotten how damned pretty you are," Cid said as he put out the cigarette he'd barely bothered to smoke.

Vincent just shook his head. They'd been trying to sort the engine parts that cluttered the apartment above Cid's shop, but so far they'd had little luck. All Vincent knew of the ships was the quick lesson from Bradey and some basic technical knowledge from decades ago. And Cid had spent a good portion of his time staring at Vincent and letting cigarettes burn out before he'd remembered to smoke them.

"Vincent, I thought we'd gotten past that."

"That was before it was reaffirmed that I am, in fact, a monster," Vincent said softly, picking up something resembling an over-sized distributor cap and offering it to Cid.

"Vincent..."

"Cid, I have wings. And fangs. Not to mention any of the other things you possibly remember." Vincent turned, looking away. Cloud had offered Vincent his cloak back, but he had refused. It actually looked good on Cloud and served a purpose. Vincent knew he couldn't hide his wings even if he'd tried.

"You didn't have fangs before?" Cid leered in Vincent's direction and suddenly Vincent felt rather naked, despite his clothing.

"Where does this go?" Vincent asked quickly, picking up something with a variety of wires hanging from it. Yes, he and Cid had had a relationship before being separated, but Vincent really hadn't thought Cid would still be interested in him.

Not with the wings, or the fangs, or the hideous claw that everyone oddly mooned over.

"In the bedroom," Cid replied, barely looking at the item before pointing. In truth the debris and collection of parts did stretch right through a far doorway and beyond.

"Cid..." It was slightly warning.

"Fuck, do I have to show you?" Cid stood up and roughly grabbed Vincent's arm, pulling him into the bedroom and pointing at a shelf that contained several other similar parts with similar clusters of wires coming from them.

Vincent frowned as he set the part on the shelf and turned to go. Cid was blocking the door.

"Cid?"

Cid smiled and took a couple steps forward, wrapping his arms around Vincent's waist. He'd also forgotten that Vincent was a couple of inches taller.

"You aren't a fucking monster," Cid replied, leaning up a bit to kiss Vincent.

They'd had a volatile and awkward relationship. Cid had agonized over it at first, and he still sometimes wondered if Vincent was only with him because he wanted Vincent to be.

Vincent winced inwardly at the taste of both cigarettes and whatever Cid was spiking his tea with these days. But besides that, the kiss was delicious and it destroyed the mental barrier Vincent had erected while trapped on another world.

While still kissing, Cid managed to walk Vincent backwards until they tumbled onto Cid's bed. Vincent let out a pained grunt as he landed on his wings and Cid jumped away, confusion and worry showing on his face.

"They aren't the easiest things to lay on," Vincent explained before sitting up and spreading his wings, stretching and refolding them while Cid looked on in awe.

"I think I need a fucking drink," Cid replied, shaking his head as he stood up and walked from the room.

Vincent sighed. He was back to being a monster.

Just as he was on his way out of the bedroom, Cid was on his way back in.

"Vincent, I..."

"Cid, I..."

They both stopped and stared at one another.

"They do look good on you," Cid finally said. "But you can't lay on them?"

"Not easily," Vincent replied, glancing back at the bed.

"Fuck."

Another moment of silence passed between them. And then they both returned to sorting parts, each stealing curious glances when the other wasn't looking.

* * *

Vincent was rather sure that getting a cup of room temperature tea dumped on him hadn't been quite the accident Cid tried to make it seem to be.

"Cid," Vincent said as he worked at the myriad of clasps that held his shirt on. "I think my clothing was all left on Sora's ship."

"Wear something of mine," Cid replied as he mopped at the damp carpet where any tea that Vincent wasn't wearing had landed.

With a sigh, Vincent explained exactly why that would not work. The myriad of clasps closed the shirt beneath the bases of his wings and normal shirts wouldn't do. He also couldn't quite fold his wings down small enough to slide through an altered shirt like Cloud could.

"Well, borrow some fucking pants at least," Cid said after doing his best to listen without interrupting. "Unless there's something else I should know about."

"Cid!"

And of course, Cid decided to double check on that statement by ambushing Vincent in the bedroom, where he'd retreated to find something dry.

* * *

Truth be told, it was actually quite the turn on, Cid decided. Vincent's wings had proven to be quite sensitive and since he couldn't just pounce on Vincent and hold him to the bed, it was forcing Vincent to be a bit more adventurous than either was used to.

Their past relationship had been volatile, and neither would readily admit to having liked it that way.

Vincent was the one kissing Cid now, sprawled over Cid's naked body and almost nervous at how much he was enjoying playing the role of dominant. When his mouth was free from Cid's, he chose a spot on the pilot's neck to claim. They'd had a bit of a running joke about Vincent being a vampire before and one night, after drinking a bit too much together, Vincent had jokingly bit Cid's neck. It hadn't been hard enough to draw blood, but it had proved to be quite arousing for them both.

Cid let out a long stream of praises disguised as curses as Vincent continued marking him and pushing their bodies roughly together. His arousal brushed against Cid's with every movement and caused them both to moan loudly.

After leaving a couple dark purple marks, Vincent took up residence between Cid's legs, arching his form and spending a couple moments reworking his balance to account for his wings. Cid howled when Vincent first licked his arousal, gathering sticky sweet liquid from the tip and swallowing it quickly.

As Vincent took more of Cid's erection into his mouth, both men were contemplating just how they'd ended up in their current positions. Not that either would complain no matter how they ended up. Their relationship had always been rather volatile, and they liked it that way.

Chances were that Cid figured out what Vincent was doing even before Vincent himself did. But if Vincent didn't get on with it soon, Cid wasn't going to be able to control himself.

"Vin... Fuck. Are you..."

Red eyes half-hidden by wild black bangs glanced up at Cid and their owner managed a smirk as he moved his body over Cid's again, positioning himself over Cid's saliva-slicked erection.

His claw dug into the sheets as he used that arm to support himself while used his other hand to position himself.

Cid was holding his breath with his eyes squeezed shut, grabbing for the bedding and Vincent's claw hand as Vincent slowly eased himself down, carefully guiding them both.

Vincent was the one who broke the silence, but Cid wasn't far behind. Cid let his breath out quickly, following up with a chain of cursing as Vincent pushed his body quickly the rest of the way down and held himself there, eyes wide and head back.

After a moment, Vincent adjusted himself, moving slightly and pushing himself back as he brought himself closer to Cid. Cid thrust upward to match, and soon the two were locked in a fast rhythm, each one intent on trying to get the other to come first.

Cid had a hand between their bodies, doing what he could to stroke Vincent's arousal though he couldn't quite match his movements to Vincent's. And he was staring at Vincent's tense wings, which were shaking slightly and pulled tight to Vincent's body. If they were permanent, he definitely wouldn't mind.

Adjusting his body again, a howl came from Vincent's lips with every movement he made. Cid couldn't help himself as he watched Vincent pleasure himself. His orgasm overtook him and he reached up to pull Vincent to him, holding him close until he realized he had those sensitive wings a bit too tightly in his grasp.

"Fuck... Vincent..." Cid let Vincent pull away a bit and slide off to the side, his own arousal still gleaming as he took it into his own hands.

Cid's eyes were wide and he was still trying to catch his breath as he watched Vincent bring himself to climax. He couldn't remember seeing Vincent do that before, and certainly never expected him to use his claw hand, even just as a guide.

Vincent's wings flew to their full span as he came, milky white liquid coating his hands as he cried out.

Afterward, they settled onto the bed, Vincent partially lying across Cid as they both tried to recover.

"Cid?" Vincent asked.

Cid grunted a response, reaching to pull a blanket up higher over their bodies.

"That's my wing, not a blanket."

Cid's eyes shot open and confirmed the statement.

"Fuck," he replied, looking over to Vincent's face.

"I'm a monster."

"Fine, you're a monster," Cid said, closing his eyes. "But you're my fucking monster so go to sleep."

Vincent sighed, knowing that was the closest he was going to get to any declaration of emotion and feelings from Cid.

They slept peacefully, without nightmares.


	21. Chapter 19

Cloud leaned back in his seat and, for the eighty-seventh time, told himself that he was going to be fine. It was just that the motion of the ship was starting to get to him.

The craft itself was on autopilot, following less than a minute behind Cid's vessel. But Cid had the heartless to worry about at the moment, and Cloud and Leon didn't. So with autopilot engaged, Cloud had nothing to do but peer back occasionally at Leon.

Leon had barely been awake when they'd left and had mentioned something about how gently the ship was rocking before he fell back to sleep.

With a bored sigh, Cloud flicked a button that caused the radio to scan through frequencies. They were still a bit too far out to pick up the Coliseum's medium-strength broadcast, and Sora hadn't radioed for more than an hour from his position at the lead of the small caravan.

After fighting off another wave of nausea and watching the radio reset four times, Cloud heard a noise behind him.

"Nnnn. Cloud?"

Cloud turned in his seat so he could see Leon stretch and stand.

"Nice nap?"

Leon glared a moment. "You're the one who kept me up most of the night."

"Yet I'm up here flying this horrid thing," Cloud replied, watching as Leon meticulously looked over his weapon, which was sitting on top of the supply crate. It hadn't moved so much as an inch during the time Leon was asleep, but still, Cloud had seem him clean the weapon past perfection on more than one occasion.

"It can't be that hard. You aren't even touching the controls," Leon noted, stretching again and walking up to lean on the back of Cloud's seat.

"Autopilot," Cloud replied, pointing at a couple of read-outs and buttons. "We should be there in about half an hour."

"Nothing to do until then?"

"Not really," Cloud answered, wondering just what frame of mind Leon had woken up in.

"You open to suggestions?" Leon asked as he slid into the space between Cloud's chair and the control panel. Leaning over Cloud, he tilted Cloud's head with one hand so they could kiss.

The kiss grew from a simple meeting of mouths into an intoxicating battle of tongues while Leon tried to slip a hand into Cloud's pants. Cloud was wearing his old uniform, which fit enticingly snug over some parts of his body.

They didn't stop kissing as Leon's hand achieved its goal. Cloud moaned into the kiss as he was coaxed to full arousal.

Both were gasping for breath when their lips finally parted, but before Cloud could question what Leon was planning, Leon slipped down to his knees between Cloud's legs.

Cloud could only gasp Leon's name as icy blue eyes flicked from Cloud's face downward. With a tortuously slow movement, Leon took Cloud's arousal into his mouth. Cloud grabbed at the armrests as Leon let his tongue travel over every inch he could reach.

When Leon glanced upwards a moment later to see why Cloud was being so quiet, his eyes met glowing blue. One hand was wrapped firmly around Cloud's arousal and his mouth was still around the tip as he silently questioned if he was doing anything wrong.

"Don't stop," Cloud whispered, stroking Leon's hair softly. "You're amazing to watch."

Leon smirked as best he could for having an erection in his mouth and continued where he'd left off. He felt a little self-conscious knowing he was being so closely watched, but remembering the times he'd been captivated by Cloud performing the same act on him, he understood.

A few minutes later, Cloud closed his eyes and moaned, waves of pleasure coursing through his body as Leon moved his tongue faster and bobbed his head quicker.

Cloud cried out as he came, his entire body shaking with the force of the orgasm. Leon quickly drank down his mouthful of hot fluid before returning to carefully clean all traces away from Cloud's body.

Cloud pulled him up into a quick kiss, causing Leon to almost lose his balance and crash awkwardly into the control panel. However once righted, his lips were quickly claimed.

"I want you," Cloud whispered as Leon pulled away.

"Hey guys, I just confirmed landing instructions. We're about five minutes out."

Both men stared at the radio with irritation, trying to convince themselves Sora hadn't somehow known what was going on and planned that interruption.

His hand shaking a bit from the intensity of his release, Cloud reached to the radio and opened the channel.

"Understood. See you soon," he replied, his voice cracking midway.

Leon was glaring at the radio when Cloud looked over to him. Quickly fixing his clothing, Cloud stood and walked over to Leon, who'd moved to lean against the sidewall of the cockpit.

"Later," Cloud said as he ran a hand down Leon's chest and over Leon's straining erection. "As soon as the tournament is over, in the showers..."

Leon nodded, trying not to frown as the autopilot squawked out a disengagement message Cloud couldn't ignore.

* * *

A couple of weird and colorful demons holding flares guided the three ships onto the dock at the Coliseum.

Everyone formed a sort of loose huddle as they stretched and paced, waking their bodies up after the hours in space. Cloud was leaning on his weapon, watching everyone.

After a minute, Aerith wandered over and smiled.

"Motion sick?" she asked.

"A little," Cloud replied. It was a lie, but perfectly explained his condition. He hadn't even noticed the motion of the ship once Leon had started on him.

"Poor thing." She walked behind him and wrapped her arms around him, earning a flicker of a glare from Leon, who was standing nearby. "You better be okay to fight, because Yuffie and I are ready."

"C'mon guys, we have to sign up," Sora yelled from near the gate.

With few words, the entire group passed through the gates and into the open courtyard of the Coliseum.

"Oh! Look at these!" Aerith exclaimed, letting go of Cloud and crouching down to point at a few loose pebbles.

"So?" Leon asked.

"They'll be perfect for the fish tank," Aerith replied, gathering as many as she could and handing some to Yuffie when the ninja joined her.

Cloud stopped. "You don't have a fish tank."

"But Gepetto does," Aerith said. "You met him, right?"

With a nod, Cloud looked to Leon. They knew about Gepetto. They'd had a wonderfully naughty time making a vacant building into something livable for the old man and his son.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Sora had finally rounded up the entire group and ushered them into the room where Phil was waiting to check in any willing or not-so-wiling fighters.

"Cloud?" Phil pushed past everyone's knees. "I need to talk to you about what you've missed."

"I didn't think you were friends," Sora said, looking oddly at the pair.

"Keep your enemies closer, kid," Phil responded before reaching up to pull Cloud down to his level.

"Later, Phil. Send everyone in first," Cloud replied. Whatever it was, he didn't like Phil's tone of voice.

"Fine," Phil said as he turned to walk back to where a small table covered with scrolls was set up. "But two words... Trouble."

Cloud just shook his head when Leon looked to him for an explanation.

"The politics here vary by day," Cloud said, walking over to Aerith and guiding her to the front of the line.

"Hey, I'm on Aerith's team too," Yuffie announced, marching over to stand beside the her.

"Team?" Cloud questioned. It did make more sense for the women to work together. After all, Sora had Donald and Goofy to help him out.

"Enter us together, okay? My name is Yuffie." Yuffie said to Phil, leaning over the table to look at the rough seeding for the event.

Phil looked up at the women. "You do know how this works, right? I don't want you pretty things getting hurt."

Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "Sora and Cloud explained it all. We know it's just for fun and if we both get knocked out, that's it. But we'll be fine afterward."

Aerith smiled as she looked at Yuffie.

"Okay, I'll start you two off about twentieth seed. How's that?"

Yuffie shrugged, and looked to Cloud for advice.

"Fine," Cloud replied. "Leon?"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Want to fight... together?"

"Alone," Leon said, stepping up behind the women.

Phil eyed Leon a moment before marking down something on the scroll. "Fifteenth seed."

* * *

Cloud stayed behind as everyone else headed towards the main arena. They still had almost an hour until the tournament started, and until then, Sora wanted to drag everyone around and show them things. Even Leon was quickly whisked away by his enthusiasm.

"Okay, now why am I going to be watching my back, Phil?" Cloud asked, bending down to get in the face of the pudgy satyr.

"Today's top seed is a killer. Don't fight her," Phil replied, shaking his head. "She's Hades' wife, and the last thing you need is trouble with him."

"Fine," Cloud replied. "Though he's not going to like what I have to tell him anyway."

"What now?" Phil asked. "Going to ask to skip out on another contract? Not going to happen."

"The contract's fine," Cloud said, reaching back and adjusting his sword so he could crouch without it banging the floor. "We're just going to have a new resident until I can leave here for good."

"Oh no you don't," Phil countered, putting his hands out in a blocking motion. "Don't tell me you have someone."

"Phil?" Cloud was surprised. He didn't think it was going to be much of a problem. If anything, it'd be one extra fighter around, and that seemed like a good thing.

"Here's what you've missed, Cloud. Two days after you left, Riku came back."

Cloud winced. He honestly never thought he'd see Riku again and hadn't even considered something like this. It's not that he necessarily felt anything beyond lust for Riku, it was just that with Leon here, and Sora. Oh no, Sora... After what Sora said had happened in the whale, now was not the time for a confrontation. Especially when Riku didn’t know half of what had been going on.

"Riku's... here. Is he fighting today?" Cloud put a hand to his head. This was not going to be good.

"He was led off by one of Hades' freaky pals earlier this morning, or he would be. I'm amazed that other guy isn't fighting though." Phil said, grabbing his things from the table.

"Other guy?"

"Yeah, a real freak. Strong though. You'll see him around. And Cloud, I have three words for you." Phil started down the hallway to the arena, not looking back. "Try monogamy."

The little satyr was less than amused to be knocked over by a very large buster sword when Cloud 'accidentally' smacked him with it a moment later.

* * *

The sun was shining on the main arena, but the day itself wasn't overly warm. Bradey had sprawled out on one of the bleachers, attempting to sunbathe though she kept one arm over her eyes. The sudden light was such a change from Traverse Town that the prolonged exposure to it was starting to effect them all. Even Cid seemed to have a smile on his face as he attempted to convince Vincent that surely those wings were capable of flight. Sora and Yuffie quickly joined in the persuasion effort while Aerith emptied her pockets of the pebbles she'd picked up earlier.

Leon was leaning against a column and looking around at the surroundings as if he'd never been so bored in his life. Actually, it had been little while since he had been this bored. The last few weeks had been a treat, despite their awkwardness, because everything had been unpredictable and new. If there was one thing Leon didn't like, it was monotony. At times it was a comforting break, but Traverse Town really was dull without at least one traveler livening things up.

And Cloud, Cloud took away the feelings of rejection that had held him back from seeking out a relationship before. Still, he was worried. After listening to a long explanation from Cloud about a lover who had died... Or, not died, from what he'd understood. The whole thing seemed very complicated and it seemed to be a very real possibility that Cloud would follow up on the situation.

He didn't want to be rejected again, but he was already preparing himself for when it happened. It hurt, but life hurt. It was reality.

It wasn't that he regretted coming to the Coliseum, because he didn't. It was just that he had a very strange feeling about the entire scenario.

Watching Cloud go through a warm-up in the middle of the arena, Leon couldn't help being absolutely captivated by his movements. It was almost like the place brought out something within that Leon couldn't quite put his finger on.

Or maybe it was just the sunshine. He'd never seen any of his companions in the sunlight before. He'd almost forgotten what daylight was like. He wondered if even he looked different.

"Okay, get ready to die," Phil deadpanned as he walked by the group on his way across the arena.

"What?" Aerith asked, panicking a bit. "I thought you said..."

"It's a joke, remind me not to make another," Phil replied, cutting her off and continuing on his way.

* * *

Aerith clapped and cheered as Sora cut easily through another shadow heartless. He was currently fighting the twenty-seventh seed team and doing fairly well, himself. Goofy threw Donald another potion and made an offhand comment about how he wasn't really stocked for this.

"Are you nervous?" Yuffie asked as she sat down beside Aerith. She had been up a couple of bleachers, looking at the scenery, during the last couple rounds.

"About fighting Sora? No way! Cloud and Squall, er, Leon taught us well!" Yuffie exclaimed, rocking back once before settling down and grabbing Aerith's hand. She squeezed it gently and smiled. "It's fighting Leon, and Cloud, that could be tricky."

As for the two men in question, they were sitting a few feet apart at the other end of the bleachers. Every few minutes a hesitant and questioning look passed between them yet neither spoke. Each was squinting a bit, making their expressions nearly unreadable.

"Remember Leon, the showers, right after this is over," Cloud finally whispered, licking the edge of Leon's ear after he spoke. Leon shivered at the contact and then nodded.

It would definitely be a different experience. The shower he had in Traverse Town really couldn't fit two people for a normal shower, let alone something more athletic.

In his mind, Leon had the blonde pressed up against a tile wall as hot water sprayed over them both. He watched the fantasy play out in his mind as Cloud nipped at his neck. He'd seen how Cloud's hair lay when wet and it was damned sexy. But it wasn't just the hair, it was his entire tanned naked body he was pressing himself against and pushing into. And it was amazing.

He let out a low involuntary moan, snapping back to reality only because Sora crashed into the invisible barrier just in front of him.

"Sora!" But before Leon could jump to his feet, Sora picked himself up and grinned before rushing back into the melee.

"Don't worry," Cloud said, reaching an arm around Leon's shoulders. "None of the damage he's taking is real - he'll be fine when he steps out of the arena."

"Us too?"

"Yeah. Or else I wouldn't have let Aerith come," the blonde replied as he glanced over at her. "But this is safe and it'll build her confidence."

Leon just nodded and watched as a new pack of heartless was unleashed on Sora and his companions.

Cloud kept his fingers crossed that everything would work itself out before any damage was done. If Riku felt the same for Sora as Sora felt for Riku, all was well.

But if not...

* * *

"Sorry!" Aerith yelled as she smacked Donald across the chest with her staff. She closed her eyes a moment before peering at the him. He was out cold. Aerith winced. "Sorry..."

"Aerith!" Yuffie's yell brought the woman out of her momentary shock. Turning, she saw both Sora and Goofy running for the already-wounded ninja.

"Over here!" Aerith yelled back, motioning for Yuffie to run to her.

A quick healing spell and a couple of well places blow from the pair of them had Goofy out cold and Sora backing away slowly, trying to find a potion.

Conformer quickly took care of him though, and Yuffie grinned as she caught her weapon.

Smiling to each other, the two women watched as their three challengers slowly picked themselves up and staggered out of the arena. All three were smiling.

And on the bleachers, even Vincent was cheering.

The next round was a group of heartless though, and Aerith was visibly shaken by their appearance. She wasn't hitting as hard as she could and wasn't watching what was around her. In less than a minute, she'd backed herself into a corner and had three monkey-shaped heartless closing in on her.

"Dammit!" Cloud was on his feet, trying to get a better view. He knew Aerith wouldn't actually get physically hurt, but he didn't want her to be afraid either. "Aerith!"

Suddenly, one of the monkey heartless went flying, then another. The third was quickly pulverized and seconds later Aerith was grinning widely and waving to Cloud and Leon.

"I think she'll be fine," Leon said as Cloud sat down again.

"Yeah," Cloud replied with a slight grin. Still, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aerith bring a hand to her chest and pause before chasing another enemy.

About five minutes later, Leon stepped into the arena. Yuffie looked to Aerith and nodded, passing a silent bit of confidence to her partner. Still, the second the battle officially began, it was clear who was going to come out on top.

Cloud winced with every blow Leon landed on either woman and he couldn't quite figure out his strategy. He'd thought Leon would be gentle on them, but each movement of his gunblade was deliberately harsh.

At the rate he was going, he'd have both women knocked out in ten seconds.

"Cloud?" Bradey had appeared beside him, unnoticed as he watched the battle. He mentally cursed himself for ignoring his surroundings before glancing up at her.

"It's okay, I know what he's doing," Cloud replied. It had dawned on him just a moment before he'd had his thoughts interrupted. Still, he winced as Aerith went down.

"I don't get it," Bradey said. "He's so..."

"He's getting it over with quickly. Pain in there isn't quite the same, but you do know you're getting hurt." Cloud explained. "They didn't stand a chance, so he made it quick."

Bradey shook her head for a moment until she understood. "What about you?"

Cloud was silent a moment as Yuffie was slammed against a wall and then fell to the arena floor. Leon had won.

"I'm not going to tell you the ending."

* * *

Leon and Cloud stood just a few feet apart, weapons drawn. Everyone was on their feet with their faces pressed against the invisible barrier. Even Donald and Goofy were watching the pair with apparent interest.

The first move was made by Leon and quickly evaded by Cloud. Again, they stood motionless, looking for any unguarded spots or deviance from form.

And then, in a couple of almost poorly timed moves, Cloud went down, hard.

"That didn't just happen."

Everyone turned to look at Vincent. He'd barely said a handful of words all day except when he'd been cheering for Aerith. But his observation seemed to mirror everyone else's thoughts. Even Leon seemed surprised as he was declared the victor.

"Cloud?" he asked, bending down to assist the rapidly recovering blonde.

"I'm fine. Good job," Cloud replied as he struggled to his feet.

"You didn't just..."

"Win," Cloud cut him off. "For me. I'll see you in the showers."

And before Leon could reply, Cloud had left the ring and the next wave of heartless was quickly approaching.

Sora was the first to run up to Cloud, his eyes asking the obvious question his mouth couldn't even form.

"I need to go have a chat with Hades," Cloud said coolly. "You're welcome to tag along, as I'll eventually need to talk to you, too."

"About what?" Sora asked, pouting at not getting the information right away.

"Just come with me."

The two vanished down a dark hallway before any of the others thought to follow. They were all still watching Leon.

* * *

Some time between the sixth and fifth seed matches, a small black-haired woman wandered out from a dark doorway and took a seat on the far end of the bleachers. She watched Leon intently for a few moments before settling her gaze on the rest of the spectators.

No one paid any attention to her until she shed her long robes to display a red bodysuit underneath.

Leon stood panting in the center of the arena after finishing off the second seed horde of heartless, oblivious to the woman until she stepped effortlessly though the invisible barrier.

"You're an excellent fighter," she said, pulling a golden sword from thin air. "My name is Persephone."

"Leon," Leon replied, trying to size up the fighter. Something about her just wasn't right.

Was this why Cloud let himself lose? Did he not want to fight this woman? Or, was he ordered not to?

"Leon." Persephone seemed to mull over his name a moment. "You've impressed me, Leon."

"Just fight me," Leon threw back. He was going to win this. And then he was going to go find Cloud and live out all the fantasies that had sustained him through the dull afternoon.

"Good luck, Leon," Persephone replied before taking a perfect fighting stance.

She made the first move.


	22. Chapter 20

Sephiroth was absolutely furious. While at first he hadn't been too excited about the idea of Riku fighting in the day's tournament, he'd been swayed the night before when Phil had told him that others might appear for the tournament.

It would have been an excellent test of Riku's skills.

But no, one of Hades' similarly useless villain friends had dragged Riku off first thing in the morning to do some sort of trivial dirty work.

Sephiroth was absolutely furious as he stalked up the hallway towards the main arena. He'd been asked to participate by Persephone herself earlier, but he'd declined politely. He didn't need the tournament to test his skills and had no desire to bore himself with lesser swordsmen who weren't going to learn anything from the experience.

Still, he decided to at least watch a bit of show, just in case Cloud had decided to return. He knew Cloud liked a fight, and he also knew Cloud was due to return in the next couple days no matter what.

Peering out a high window, he watched as a skilled brunette took out legions of heartless using moves that looked very familiar. Some of them were his - things he'd taught to Cloud.

The brunette must at least know Cloud, and possibly where to find him. But a quick scan of the small crowd presented only faces he had no need to exact revenge upon at present and a couple of unfamiliar competitors.

Persephone glanced up a moment later and smiled. She knew Sephiroth was watching, but no one else noticed him. And, based on the fact that no one seemed to be paying any attention to anyone besides their champion.

When Persephone stepped on the arena floor, Sephiroth smirked. As graceful and near-flawless as the brunette's motions had been, unless the goddess was just playing around, he stood no chance.

He'd have to remember to ask Persephone later if she'd seen anyone matching Cloud's description around the Coliseum. She'd avidly listened to his stories about Cloud and his skill and had even asked to meet the man who'd nearly destroyed a legend.

* * *

"Something wrong, Cloud?" Sora asked as they walked through the torch-lit hallways towards Hades' usual chambers. Cloud had been a little edgy, something he'd never been before on his home turf.

"Just a little nervous," Cloud replied. After all, he was about to tell a god of the underworld that he'd brought home his lover to stay with them. And he was trying not to think that any moment Riku would be popping in. He was going to tell Sora about that too, but the moment hadn't been right yet.

"Nervous? And did you throw that fight? What's wrong?" Sora grabbed Cloud's hand and forced him to stop and meet Sora's eyes.

"Hades isn't someone to mess with," Cloud explained. "I was lucky to get my first contract turned into something a little less extreme. I need to stay on his good side."

"Okay, so?"

"The first seed competitor is his wife. I was told not to fight her. And besides, I need to explain that Leon's going to stay with me until my contract is up."

Sora winced as he looked down the corridor to where blue-flamed torches rested on either side of a large wooden door.

"Good luck."

"You aren't coming?" Cloud asked as he started walking again.

"No way. I'm the keyblade master. I'm not getting killed over your love life," Sora replied as he sat down against a wall and yawned. "Besides, all that wore me out."

Cloud grumbled under his breath until he reached the door and knocked.

* * *

Sephiroth was amazed at some of the attacks the brunette was unleashing on Persephone. Even more remarkable were some of the blocks he managed to pull off. To an untrained eye, it appeared he was winning. However, every time their weapons clashed, the brunette lost a little ground and was slowly being pinned against the wall. Still, he'd actually managed to hit Persephone far more times than she'd hit him.

And still, there was no sign of Cloud. Some of spectators were his comrades, he knew, so there was no explanation for Cloud's absence.

It didn't matter, really, since Sephiroth had a new goal in mind. The brunette moved like Cloud and seemed to have the same determination. If Riku was going to be taken from him, even for the day, perhaps he could have the brunette as a bit of a consolation prize.

He thought it was a good plan, at least until Cloud came back to him.

* * *

Leon was backed against the invisible wall, straining to push Persephone away from him. Their weapons were locked just inches from his head. He couldn't believe the woman's strength. But he wanted to win. He needed to win. And he needed to go find Cloud. He needed to make sure everything was working according to plan.

"I need to win for Cloud," he said as he attempted to break the lock. He hadn't realized he'd said the thought out loud until Persephone's eyes flew open. The temporary distraction was enough for Leon to knock her off balance and she tumbled to the arena floor.

He had his gunblade to her throat in an instant and stood above her.

"Excellent, Leon," Persephone said as she pushed the blade away slowly and climbed to her feet. "You win."

"I shouldn't have."

Persephone held out her hand for a handshake and held onto Leon's hand as she leaned up and whispered in his ear. "You threw me off guard there. I don't need the whole story, but please introduce me to this Cloud someday."

Then Persephone picked up her weapon from where she'd dropped it and thrust it back into the thin air she'd pulled it from, pulling a trophy cup from the same invisible storage space.

"For you!"

And before Leon could ask any questions, the cup was thrust into his hands and he was being surrounded on all sides by his friends. When he looked around for Persephone, she was gone.

"You won!" Yuffie exclaimed, grabbing the trophy and holding it out for everyone to admire.

"Hang on to it," Leon said before pointing towards a dark doorway across the arena. "Cloud told me there were showers just through that door, and I need one."

"I wasn't going to tell you that," Yuffie replied, holding her nose with one hand as she handed the cup to Aerith. "Aerith, you can put those fish rocks in it til we're ready to leave."

"Whatever," Leon replied as he started towards the showers. He hoped Cloud was already there.

"Hurry back. And if you see Sora and Cloud, bring them too," Aerith said. "I can't believe they missed the end!"

* * *

Sure enough, inside the doorway was a hallway to a locker room with showers beyond. In seconds, Leon was pulling away his sweaty clothing and hanging it inside one of the lockers. Towels sat in a pile near the shower entrance and with a slight smile, Leon realized it was stocked with soap and shampoo as well. At least the place did some things right.

But no Cloud. He hoped that nothing too miserable was keeping Cloud away. Of course, it really hadn't been that long since they'd parted. And this way, he could actually get a shower in before pinning Cloud against the stone wall.

Or the floor. Or perhaps there was somewhere better that he hadn't noticed. Warm water poured over Leon's body as he pondered over the exact way he wanted to claim Cloud, not even giving a second thought to the odd exchange with Persephone. He could always ask later.

And as he had his eyes shut while he rinsed his hair, Leon heard footsteps behind him.

"Cloud?"

"Not quite."

Leon spun around, bringing his hands to his eyes to push water away so he could look at his mystery visitor. He definitely didn't recognize the voice.

He'd only been rendered truly speechless a few times in his life. Most of the time Leon chose not to speak or not to carry on lines of thought that he didn't think were heading in a useful direction. The last time he could remember being truly speechless was the first time he'd ever seen another man in the throes of orgasm. Still, this should have been different. He'd seen naked men enough times that he shouldn't be spellbound.

However, Leon didn't realize he was staring with his mouth hanging open until the object of his speechlessness stepped closer and cupped Leon's chin, closing his mouth and leaning in for a kiss.

Leon couldn't move. His mind was too busy putting together details and searching for possible reactions to remember to actually react.

In another situation, Leon might not have been so fazed. But instead, he was standing in a communal shower already having extremely sexual thoughts while he was suddenly face to face with the most godlike creature he'd ever seen.

He'd seen plenty of supernatural things in his lifetime, but none of them had affected him like this.

The man, who was now kissing him, looked as though he'd stepped from either a pedestal or the most amazing wet dream ever. He had long, silver hair and a body most people couldn't even fathom. It was strong, muscular, but not ugly in any way.

And naked. Leon's eyes hadn't missed that, though his brain was stammering with that bit of information.

Finally he responded to the kiss, kissing back without thinking and moving his hands to the other's back. One hand slid over smooth skin and slightly damp hair while the other one caught against something.

He knew the feeling. It was like when he forgot about Cloud's wing and jammed his hand against it in the heat of passion.

Breaking the kiss, Leon stepped back until he was against the cool stone wall.

A wing? Silver hair. A wing. But not like Cloud's. Feathers. Just one wing though. On his right side. Cloud's... No... Can't be...

Green cat's eyes sparkled as they took in Leon's bewilderment.

* * *

Sora was asleep against the wall and drooling slightly when Cloud emerged from Hades' chambers. The entire thing had gone rather well and once Persephone popped in and started raving about the competitor who'd defeated her, Leon was guaranteed safety in the Coliseum. Persephone swore to it.

And once she'd learned that the blond standing three feet away from her was the oft-mentioned Cloud, she hugged him and promised to knit him a sweater as soon as she could.

Cloud just forced a smile and excused himself, insisting he needed to find Leon.

"Wake up," Cloud said, nudging Sora with his boot and trying not to laugh.

"Huh? Cloud?" Sora blinked groggily and one he could focus, he let out a girlish yelp and tried to back further into the wall he was leaning against.

"Don't worry," Cloud replied as he offered a hand to the little shadow heartless that had decided to wait for Cloud on Sora's lap. The heartless ran up Cloud's arm and perched on his shoulder. "That one's friendly."

Sora glared as he stood. "It didn't need to scare me."

"Anyway, time to go back. I need to find Leon," Cloud said as he walked away, not waiting for Sora to stretch and follow.

As soon as Sora caught up to Cloud, the heartless jumped from Cloud's shoulder and made a motion as though they should follow it.

Cloud sighed, but nodded to Sora, who was looking up questioningly.

"Let's see what it wants."

* * *

"You're..."

"Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth," Leon repeated as Sephiroth kissed him again. As much as he wanted to resist, he also wanted a million other things. He wanted to keep an eye on the man who'd just positively identified himself as Cloud's lost lover. He wanted to not be against the hard, cold wall. He wanted to not do anything stupid like ruin his relationship with Cloud.

As soon as Sephiroth thrust their bodies together, trapping their arousals against one another, Leon wanted one more thing. And it wasn't as though it would be wantonly anonymous sex in a communal shower or anything. He knew Sephiroth's name. And that if Cloud was in his position, the same thing would be happening.

Where was Cloud, anyway?

"Is Cloud here?"

Leon wondered if Sephiroth could somehow read his mind.

"He's on his way. He's... mine."

"Yours?" Sephiroth questioned. "He's mine. And perhaps by extension, so are you."

Yes, that was it. It made perfect sense. Pleasure made Leon's thoughts a little fuzzy as Sephiroth resumed kissing and touching him, guiding him away from the stone wall and to his knees.

"Yes," Leon said softly. He'd never lost himself like this, but it felt right. Cloud had talked him into expanding his horizons and living life instead of brooding over the past.

"Why don't we stay busy until he gets here?"

* * *

Cloud couldn't figure out why the shadow was leading them to the top floor hallway of the building overlooking the arena. There wasn't much up there besides some windows for viewing the spectacle from the shade.

The shadow hopped a few steps and then stopped, causing Cloud to draw in his breath.

At its feet were two black feathers.

"Leon."

"Huh?" Sora looked confused as he glanced from the feathers to Cloud's horrified expression and back again.

"I... We have to find Leon."

Cloud grabbed Sora's hand and pulled Sora towards the nearest set of stairs. Hopefully Leon was still in the locker room area.

* * *

Sephiroth was a bit curious what must be running through the other man's mind. He'd put up almost no struggle as he'd been guided onto his knees on the stone floor. It was unexpected, but appreciated. Even more arousing was the fact that he was also Cloud's lover. It was like a two for one sale.

A generous amount of the Coliseum-supplied after-bath lotion made perfect lubricant and Sephiroth pulled the man's body back at the same time he thrust forward, making one smooth motion as he buried himself within the other's heat.

He'd forgotten to ask the brunette's name, Sephiroth realized, and it was simply not the time to ask. With his left hand, he reached down to take the hardness he found there in hand. His partner reacted with a howl, pressing into Sephiroth's hand and rocking back the best he could to meet Sephiroth's thrusts.

Both of them were aching for release, and it couldn't come fast enough.

Still, the other man came first and slid forward, his erection still twitching in Sephiroth's hand. Sephiroth gritted his teeth and tried to hold back a few seconds longer, but he couldn't. With a series of soft grunts, he found his own orgasm in a burst of extreme pleasure as he tried to hold their bodies together.

Both of them were sprawled on the stone floor a moment later, Sephiroth still very much inside the other man.

Now, Sephiroth though, was still not the time to ask for a name.

* * *

Cloud still clutched Sora's hand as they came to a screeching halt at the entrance to the showers.

His mouth dropped open and as Sora realized what was in front of him, his expression quickly matched Cloud's.

"Sephiroth," Cloud said in a loud whisper. The god in question looked up, as did Leon.

"Leon?" Sora asked, an eyebrow raised and trying to hold back a snicker.

"Cloud," Sephiroth replied smoothly, grinning a bit and not moving from his position.

"Cloud," Leon echoed, trying to make his eyes see something besides stars.

"Sephiroth?" Sora asked, looking up at Cloud for an explanation.

But before Cloud could say a word, all four of them heard footsteps from the other end of the showers, where another door connected to a different part of the locker room.

"Hey Sephiroth, you down here? I'm back and Hades said that..." Riku stopped mid-sentence as he surveyed the room he'd just stepped into.

"Riku!" Sora finally let go of Cloud's hand and took a step forward.

"Riku," Cloud said softly, his eyes raking over Riku and the skin-tight black bodysuit he wore that hid nothing.

"Sora?" Riku questioned back, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Leon," Sephiroth said as he finally slid free from Leon's body. At least he didn't have to ask now.

"Cloud." Riku blinked a couple times as he spoke.

"Riku." Sephiroth stood. "You're just in time."

"Leon!" Cloud finally remembered how to move and took a few steps closer to Leon, who was trying to sit up.

"It seems we all know each other rather, well, intimately," Sephiroth surmised. "Perhaps we should... discuss this further in my private chambers."

Riku looked to Sephiroth and nodded. He held a hand out to Sora, who ran to grab it. Cloud grabbed Leon's hand and pulled Leon to his feet. And then, swallowing hard, Cloud took the hand that Sephiroth had extended to him.

* * *

Cid and Vincent had gotten tired of waiting and had headed off to perform some sort of maintenance on the ship that Bradey had been banned from attending. Bradey had retorted that she really didn't care, as she'd already walked in on them once and it was quite enough.

Now she was sunbathing on the upper-most bleacher, oblivious to everything but the sun that was luring her to sleep.

Aerith and Yuffie were sparring with one another after vowing to not let Leon beat them again.

"Hello ladies," a voice said, startling them both. To the side of the arena stood an overly muscular man wearing a skirt. Well, it looked like a skirt, but before Yuffie could rudely point it out, Aerith clamped her hand over Yuffie's mouth.

"Hello," Aerith replied, leading Yuffie back over to the bottom bleachers. "Can we help you?"

"I'm Hercules, Professional Hero," the man replied. "I don't suppose you have any use for my services?"

"Nope," Yuffie replied.

"Well, just in case, I'll stay here and keep you safe," Hercules said before strolling to the middle of the arena and strutting about, flexing his muscles in a possibly threatening way.

Aerith joined in Yuffie's soft giggling and after squeezing Yuffie's hand, she reached over to grab Leon's trophy.

"Whatcha doing?" Yuffie asked as Aerith pulled out one of the pebbles she'd grabbed for Gepetto.

"This," Aerith replied before throwing the pebble straight at Hercules. It hit the back of his head and he turned quickly, looking around before smiling and waving at the innocent looking ladies.

"Oh, let me try," Yuffie said once Hercules turned back away from them and began showing off again.

"Sure," Aerith said with a giggle. "I wonder what's keeping the guys so long."

Yuffie shrugged before bouncing a pebble off Hercules' back.

"Knowing them, I don't want to think about it."


	23. Epilogue

"You three are wearing too much clothing," Sephiroth said as he coolly regarded Cloud, Sora and Riku.

Leon had already crawled onto the bed, his body glistening with both water and semen. He wasn't entirely sure if he should be confused or relieved. After all, he had just been caught on his hands and knees in the communal showers after taking it hard and fast from a man he'd just met.

Still, none of them seemed uncomfortable. Sephiroth watched with his glowing green eyes as Cloud slowly removed his borrowed red cape and revealed one black wing. The pair looked at each other a moment, slowly negotiating their complimentary appendages before their eyes locked. Not a moment later Sephiroth had Cloud pulled tight to him, working quickly to remove the old uniform even as they kissed.

Cloud's fingers wound into wet silver hair, accidentally snagging a bit with his claws as he let his former lover explore every inch of his mouth. Seeing Sephiroth with Leon beneath him had been rather arousing, and surely the five of them could make the best of the situation.

A moan sounded from across the room. Leon tore his gaze from Sephiroth and Cloud to look at Riku and Sora as they worked to get each other undressed. No mental picture from any number of descriptions Cloud had given him even came close to how Riku looked as Sora undressed him.

Now all he needed was... Before he could finish the thought, two tangled bodies hit the bed beside him, each adjusting quickly to keep from crushing their respective wings. Pulling their lips apart, Cloud looked up at Leon with lust-filled eyes.

"We can share."

Leon parted his lips slightly in shock, not quite comprehending even as Cloud brought himself up a bit and kissed him, reassuring him. Ice blue eyes fluttered shut, but not before they caught a glimpse of Sephiroth licking at Cloud's nipples. One of Cloud's hands tangled into Leon's damp hair and held their mouths together until Cloud had wrung a delicious moan from him.

Finally breaking apart so they could breath, the pair realized they had three sets of eyes watching them. Sora and Riku had crawled naked onto the bed on the far side, watching with explicit interest. And Sephiroth's eyes glittered with excitement as he let Cloud move to lay on top of Leon, pushing his legs apart and settling between them. Both men moaned as their arousals touched, kissing again quickly as their tongues mirrored the movements of their bodies, tangling together and suddenly desperate.

Sephiroth slid a hand down Cloud's back, feeling Cloud shiver at his touch. He trailed the hand down to rest between Cloud's buttocks, spreading them and tracing a finger around his opening. Cloud gasped and broke the kiss before quickly whispering something to Leon.

Beside them, Riku was already between Sora's legs, enthusiastically working his mouth over Sora's arousal. Sora was arched up from the bed, shaking slightly as he grabbed at the blankets beneath him.

"On your back," Cloud said to Sephiroth, pointing at the space on the bed behind him.

Sephiroth just nodded, intent on finding out just what Cloud and Leon had planned as he reclined carefully, shifting slightly to not put too much pressure on his wing.

With a nod and a wink, both Leon and Cloud pounced, taking on Sephiroth's body in near-perfect sync. They worked their way down Sephiroth's body quickly, kissing and nipping and occasionally letting their hands and lips meet as well.

Just before Cloud and Leon could descend on Sephiroth's erection, a distracting cry broke over the stream of low moans that had been coming from Sephiroth. The three older men turned to watch Sora's body shake with orgasm as Riku swallowed what he could of Sora's seed.

A few stray drops shimmered on Riku's chin as he glanced over at their audience. Without a word, Riku climbed over Leon's body and kissed Sephiroth, letting Sephiroth stroke his erection for a moment while he shared his prize with his teacher.

Leon made a noise similar to a whimper and Cloud just gasped. The two silver-haired creatures currently exploring each other's mouths was almost too much.

"Riku..." Sora's soft plea brought Riku back to himself and he ended the kiss. Before letting himself be pulled back to Sora's arms though, he let his eyes meet Cloud's. The message was clear. Later.

Sephiroth watched his student a moment longer until a sudden amazing rush of pleasure jolted him away from his thoughts. He almost lost control at what he saw when he glanced downward. Cloud and Leon were caught in what seemed to be an amazingly passionate kiss. And his erection was between their mouths, being bathed by both of their tongues at once.

Sora's eyes were wide as he watched the men beside him. Riku was curled behind him now, stroking his body comfortingly.

Leon broke the kiss, pulling away and backing to where he'd been, a slight smile on his face. "You two..."

Wasting no time, Sephiroth caught Leon's lips one last time before pulling Cloud up to lay sprawled across his chest.

Leon ran a hand up his own arousal as he licked his lips. Sephiroth had tasted of Sora.

"Leon?"

Turning, Leon realized it was Riku who'd said his name.

"The top drawer of the table on the other side of the bed," Riku said, knowing he didn't need to explain further.

With slight annoyance, Leon made his way to the end of the bed and attempted to get to the night table but was blocked by a flurry of wings as Sephiroth and Cloud switched positions awkwardly. Cloud had been flipped onto his stomach underneath Sephiroth and Sephiroth was licking around Cloud's opening.

Unconsciously he brought a hand to stroke himself before remembering he was on a mission.

Opening the drawer, Leon quickly pondered just how much lubricant one person needed. Or just how much sex Sephiroth had on a daily basis. The drawer was more than stocked.

"Leon."

His name had been said in perfect unison, and he realized both Sephiroth and Cloud were watching him.

"Here..." Cloud said slowly, patting the spot on the bed in front of him. Sephiroth just smiled wickedly before taking the lubricant Leon offered.

With a nod, Leon tossed a second container of lubricant to Riku and climbed onto the spot Cloud had made for him.

Cloud smiled before he took Leon's arousal in his mouth, glancing up to meet ice blue eyes for just a second.

Leon moaned and leaned back against pillows and the headboard, closing his eyes and letting waves of pleasure wash over him.

A moment later Cloud was penetrating him with a pair of slick fingers, making him writhe and cry out, oblivious to Cloud's soft grunt around his erection as Sephiroth claimed what was his.

Beside them, Riku guided Sora onto his back, each stealing glances at what has happening just inches away from them.

"Sora," Riku whispered before kissing Sora's lips quickly. "Have you ever..."

Sora smirked without meaning to. "Leon," he said softly, gesturing quickly in Leon's direction on the bottom of the pile next to them. It was enough to get the message across.

Riku watched Leon for a moment, tracing the man's body with his eyes before nodding. Then, without words, he positioned himself between Sora's legs and grabbed the container of lubricant from the edge of the bed.

"Riku..." It became a cry as fingers slid into him, pressing perfectly inside of him. Sora's second orgasm followed less than a minute later, just as Riku had removed his fingers and slid his glistening arousal into Sora's body.

Sephiroth nipped at Cloud's wing as he thrust into him. He was holding onto Cloud tightly, as though at any moment he'd lose what he'd been searching for. One of his hands was firm around Cloud's arousal, moving fast. In some strange way, he almost needed to know that he could still bring Cloud to orgasm.

Cloud was lost in pleasure as he pulled himself away from Leon, unable to continue as he neared his peak. He was crying out something unintelligible as Sephiroth moved faster and harder, feathers coming loose from his wing and floating down to almost get crushed in Sora's hands as he clawed at the blankets beneath him.

Leon just watched as everyone around him cried out near-simultaneously. Sora came first, his seed trapped between his body and Riku's as their tongues tangled in a desperate kiss. Riku was next, spurred on by his lover's body coaxing his into release.

And Sephiroth and Cloud, who were already moving perfectly within one another's bodies, weren't far behind the younger pair. Leon felt some of Cloud's hot semen splash against his legs and he stroked himself faster, wanting to feel a part of the entire scene.

Just as Sephiroth let out a low moan that accompanied his release, Riku pulled himself from Sora and crawled between Cloud and Leon, quickly knocking Leon's hand away and replacing it with his mouth. Three pairs of eyes watched him intently for a couple minutes until he too found release.

And then they all just sort of stayed there for a moment, awkwardly kissing and touching one another, until their energy returned.

Later, after the sun started to set and everyone had managed a romp with most everyone else, the five of them were sprawled half-tangled in the blankets and barely awake.

The door swung open, causing most everyone to sit up.

"Hello, anyone here?" a voice called seconds before Persephone walked into the room clutching two bundles of material. She paused as she got a good look at the bed.

"Oh! Sephiroth, Riku... didn't realize you had company. I brought your sweaters. Green for you, Sephiroth. And Blue for Riku," she said calmly, holding each up before draping them over a chair.

"And Cloud," she continued, "yours will take another day or so... Leon, you're here! And one more..."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, before pulling various blankets over Cloud and Riku, who were both already covering him with their bodies.

"Let's see, purple for Cloud, grey for Leon, and red for you - I saw it on the entry forms... Sora!" Persephone ticked off each new knitting project on her fingers.

"One last thing," she said quickly, as though she'd almost forgotten. "Should I just have everyone out in the arena stay the night? It's getting late."

"Nnn," Leon mumbled, finally looking at Persephone.

"No problem" And with that, the goddess disappeared into thin air, leaving them alone to get some rest and to discuss just where the future would take them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -One Wing-End-8-29-03-


End file.
